Francine Honey lights the way through life with “Hold On”
Life can be so hard that a herculean effort is needed to keep going. Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Francine Honey captures this in her soaring new single “Hold On.”
“Hold On” began as a theme song for the 2021 International Network of Personal Meaning (INPM) conference. It was also a finalist for the 2021 Blues and Roots Radio International Songwriting Competition.
INPM founder, Canadian psychologist, and professor Dr. Paul T.P. Wong had approached Francine about writing the song based on a poem he had written on the theme: How does one keep going? How does one find joy amidst sadness and grief?
“We met and I took some of his other poems and writings, and we created a theme song for the conference,” said Francine. Dr. Wong had included some beautiful lines Francine felt really spoke to the heart, including “we are made of stardust,” and our souls “can reach beyond the stars.”
“Those lines resonated deeply for me given my interest in astrophysics, my work as a healer, and my personal belief that the human spirit is magical and can overcome the biggest of challenges if we keep moving forward and never give up,” she shares. “I loved this song so much, I asked Dr. Wong if I could make a few changes and create my own version to include my belief in the healing power of music, and how a song can have the power to heal a broken heart and take us out of our depths,” she said.
The result is a ballad that begins with piano and then builds rich layers of instrumentation, including an electric guitar, lap steel guitar, mandolin, violin, and harmonica. Francine’s warm, soothing voice threads in and out showing us, not only through the finely honed lyrics but through highly nuanced emotion, that there is a way through the struggle, grief, and pain.
I want to hear that small voice whisper
To my forgotten soul
They say it’s never too late to start again
What breaks your heart will make you whole
Recorded in Nashville at Skinny Elephant Recording, “Hold On” was produced by Grammy Award-nominated producer Neilson Hubbard. Other Nashville musicians have also played on Francine’s songs since 2018 — including Dan Mitchell, Miranda Lambert’s musical director — who contributed the piano and background vocals.
