Bb  F  Eb  F
Bb  F  Eb  Bb

[Verse 1]
Bb
She'd given everything she could give
F                                 Eb
Twenty years of kindness made her sad
Bb
Kindness never made enough to live
F                                      Eb
So she sold the very last thing that she had

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Bb
As she held her hand out to him
      F
As he drove around the block
   Eb                                     Bb
He mouthed through the window, "Just hold on"
Bb
"I've held on many years now
      F
And I haven't found a lot"
   Eb               Bb
Hold on, hold on to what?

[Chorus]
 Bb
So hold on, hold on to what?
Gm
Hold on, hold on to what?
Bb       Eb           F
Hold on, hold on to what?
Eb             Bb
Holding on is harder
           Eb                  Bb
When it's something you've not got
     Eb              Bb
I'll need a pair of stilts if I'm to
Cm               F
Ever reach the top
 Bb
So hold on, hold on to what?
Gm
Hold on, hold on to what?
Bb       Eb           F      Bb  F  Eb
Hold on, hold on to what?

[Verse 2]
Bb                                   F
Many years of service with a smile
                   Eb
Up shit creek and down the Rhine
Bb                                       F
Gibraltar Rock and now the Emerald Isle
                               Eb
He'd shined every shoe that he could shine

[Pre-Chorus 2]
           Bb
And as he lay in his own blood
F
Screaming, "I've been shot"
   Eb                          Bb
He heard the Major whisper, "Just hold on"
 Bb
"I've held on all these years now
         F
Now what medal have I got?'
 Eb                  Bb
Hold on, hold on to what?

[Chorus]
 Bb
So hold on, hold on to what?
Gm
Hold on, hold on to what?
Bb       Eb           F
Hold on, hold on to what?
Eb             Bb
Holding on is harder
           Eb                  Bb
When it's something you've not got
     Eb              Bb
I'll need a pair of stilts if I'm to
Cm               F
Ever reach the top
 Bb
So hold on, hold on to what?
Gm
Hold on, hold on to what?
Bb       Eb           F      Bb  F  Eb  Bb
Hold on, hold on to what?

[Verse 3]
 Bb                                       F
Sixty years, and he's looking his worst
                          Eb
Sitting in the park where she'd died
Bb                                  F
Running hands through his final hair
                      Eb
These are the words that he cried:

[Bridge]
Gm    F        C        Eb
(Hold on, hold on, hold on)
    Gm                    F                    C
"To achieve the American dream you need a trampoline
                       Eb                                Gm       F    C    Eb
To achieve the counter effect get that whiskey down your neck
    Gm                    F                    C
"To achieve the American dream you need a trampoline
                       Eb                                Gm       F    C    Eb
To achieve the counter effect get that whiskey down your neck

[Refrain]
Gm
Chamberlain had his paper (Hold on)
Bb
Jesus had his cross (Hold on)
C
They held on (Hold on)
Eb                   Gm
We held on to what?
       Bb       C
(Hold on, hold on
     Eb
Hold on)
Gm
Chamberlain had his paper (Hold on)
Bb
Jesus had his cross (Hold on)
C
They held on (Hold on)
Eb                   Gm
We held on to what?
       Bb       C
(Hold on, hold on
     Eb
Hold on)
Gm
Chamberlain had his paper (Hold on)
Bb
Jesus had his cross (Hold on)
C
They held on (Hold on)
Eb                   Gm
We held on to what?

[Outro]
      Bb        C
(Hold on, hold on, Hold on)
Eb                Gm
We held on to what?
      Bb        C
(Hold on, hold on, Hold on)
Eb                Gm
We held on to what?
      Bb        C
(Hold on, hold on, Hold on)
Eb                Gm
We held on to what?
      Bb        C
(Hold on, hold on, Hold on)
Eb                Gm
We held on to what?