Holy (Til You Let Me Go)

Song by Rina Sawayama

## Visualiser

"**Holy (Til You Let Me Go)**" is a song recorded by Rina Sawayama, taken from her sophomore studio album *Hold the Girl*, which was released on 16 September 2022 by Dirty Hit. The song, described as a "thumping anthemic house", was written by Sawayama with Nate Campany and Chris Lyon, and was produced by Stuart Price along with Irish producer For Those I Love.

## Background

> This is where the record starts to get dark. The previous track talks about the idea that forgiveness is a winding road, and now we're going off the beaten path for the next four or five songs. 'Holy (Til You Let Me Go)' is like the counterpart to 'This Hell.'
>
> — Sawayama on "Holy (Til You Let Me Go)", Apple Music

The song was inspired by the time Sawayama attended a Church of England School. "I grew up hearing so much about religion and spirituality," said Sawayama, "but there was some dark stuff that went on there that was not handled very well, and I'm alluding to it in these songs." She further added, "I think going to Christian girls' schools can be very confusing. There's this idea that girls are holy until a certain point in their life, and then they're not. So I'm asking: ‘What does youth mean in that situation? What is good and bad?"

## Composition

"Holy (Til You Let Me Go)" was described as a "extravagant" Eurodance track. Dafydd Jenkins from *Loud and Quiet* felt that the song channels Cascada-esque Eurodance with a "thunderous percussive run and a rousing chorus",. *Consequence of Sound* writer Mary Siroky had a similar opinion on the song, writing it feels like a worthy descendant of "Cascada-era Euro dance-pop", while a Sputnikmusic reviewer described it as a "pulsing Eurotrance" track. The song's chorus sees Sawayama "describ[ing] someone robbing her of a serene childhood," as she sings over a "bouncing synth line equally melancholy" and apt to "rev up a huge crowd". Writing for *Paste* magazine, journalist Max Freedman noted that Sawayama "leaves out key details as she mines her past, inviting listeners to dance away their horrors while preserving her stories for herself." Jordan Currie from *Exclaim!* wrote that "Holy (Til You Let Me Go)" grapples with "a character's loss of faith over an anxiety-inducing bass thump." The song ends with an audio of Sawayama's friends Louis and Lauren Aquilina talking about "what happened" and they're "just in shock about how the adults were behaving."

## Critical reception

Writing for *The Line of Best Fit*, Sam Franzini felt that, although "Holy (Til You Let Me Go)" is one of the best-written songs on the album *Hold the Girl*, the song's "flashy" synths ultimately read as "dated." Abigail Firth from *Dork* magazine described the song as a "[d]ark club banger" that looks into "internalised shame and breaking free from religion."

## Lyrics

Heavenly, that was me

A vision at seventeen

Loves to read, loves to dream

The college of Magdalene

You saw a light starting to shine

Wanted it only for your eyes

Older and wise, God on your side

(I paid for your life, I paid for your life)

I was innocent when you said I was evil

I took your stones and I built a cathedral

Found my peace when I lost my religion

All these years I wished I was different

But, oh, now I know

I'm holy ’til you let me go

Tried to pray the pain away

Just like you taught me (But something had changed)

Came to shelter from the blame

But I left taking all the shame

Oh, you saw a light starting to shine

Wanted it only for your eyes

Older and wise, God on your side

(I was the martyr who paid for your life)

I was innocent when you said I was evil

I took your stones and I built a cathedral

Found my peace when I lost my religion

All these years I wished I was different

But, oh, no, now I know

I'm holy till you let me go

I'm holy till you let me go

I’m holy till you let me go

I'm holy till you let me go

I'm holy till you let me go

They told you that?

That's the conclusion that came to me

Was not that it happened in the first place

But that there was no one looking after you

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 last=Smyth, David (16 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama - Hold the Girl review: An enjoyably unpredictable world". *Evening Standard*. Retrieved on September 25, 2022.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jenkins, Dafydd (12 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama - Hold The Girl - Album Review". *Loud And Quiet*. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
3. ↑ "Tickets for Rina Sawayama | Galvanizers SWG3". TicketWeb.uk (18 May 2022). Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved on May 18, 2022.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Rina Sawayama (16 September 2022). "*Hold the Girl* by Rina Sawayama on Apple Music". Apple Music (US). Dirty Hit. Retrieved on September 16, 2022.
5. ↑ Siroky, Mary (14 September 2022). "Hold the Girl Album Review: Rina Sawayama's Healing Pop". *Consequence of Sound*. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
6. ↑ "Review: Rina Sawayama - Hold The Girl" (date=19 September 2022). Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
7. ↑ Freedman, Max (14 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama: 'Hold the Girl' Album Review". *Paste*. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
8. ↑ Currie, Jordan (13 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama Can't Hold Back on 'Hold the Girl'". *Exclaim!*. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
9. ↑ Franzini, Sam. "Rina Sawayama: Hold The Girl review - sharpens her sound while leaving room for experimentation". *The Line of Best Fit*. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.
10. ↑ Firth, Abigail (15 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama - Hold The Girl". *Dork*. Retrieved on September 24, 2022.