Seventeen, Id left behind my
pleated plaids and navy knee socks,
stumbled onto campus in my platform shoes
Feeling young and unafraid
I moved from a passing grade to
passing bottles in brown wrappers,
passing out in strangers rooms

It was a crazy time;
the world was unraveling
And I would cling to any line,
to anyone, to anything
If I could just find my way
to feel familiar tapestry,
to hold a thread of sanity
and someone said to me:

Hold on to my love,
my love, my love
Hold on to my love

Now I can see it your eyes;
they look at mine defiantly
Seventeen-- no surprise
God, you look so much like me!
The style Ive seen before,
the hair, the clothesits all been worn
Honey, its the uniform
of non-conformity

And history has her patterns
I remember seventeen-
Between the past and the future,
youre caught somewhere in the seam

And if your dreams no longer fit you,
If the ones you once held dear
start to fade and disappear
remember- hope is here

Hold on to my love

I dont profess to know the future,
Couldnt guess beyond today
This thread of hope is all I offer
if the fabrics torn away
Disillusioned, disconnected,
sometimes its hard to see
There is method to this madness,
pattern to this tapestry

When people talk of cutting things,
cutting corners, cutting lines,
ties and losses, apron strings,
connections to another time,
theres something here for you to hold,
as long as youre a child of mine,
this thread is strong as it is fine,
I cried when I wrote this line

Hold on to my love