For country audiences, the line separating Darius Rucker from Hootie & the Blowfish is thin, but his band helps him find the right side of it with "Hold On," their first new "single" in nearly 15 years.

The pop-rocker rides a snackable guitar riff and Rucker's generational voice during an ideological song about love conquering all. The singer certainly sounds as good as he did during Hootie & the Blowfish's '90s prime. In fact, there's a strong argument to be made that a decade-plus of country music crooning and storytelling has turned him in to an even better vocalist than he was 25 years ago.

"Hold On" is not a vocal showcase, however. The strong presence of his band's backing vocals and a more aggressive arrangement complement Rucker's urgent delivery of a lyric that emotes more than it actually says. The co-writers spin modern realism around and urge kindness and patience to solve our world's greatest social problems. It can and will be heard as a love song between two people or between two cultures.

Did You Know?Chris Stapleton co-wrote Hootie & the Blowfish's song "Hold On" with Jim Beavers.

Unexpected Crossovers to Country Music:

Hootie & the Blowfish's "Hold On" Lyrics:

Only heartbreak on the 6 o’clock news / They ought to call it the 6 o’clock blues / Seems like this whole world’s going wrong / That ain’t no kind of love song.

Chorus:
We gotta hold on, we gotta hold on / There ain’t nothing that a little love can’t get us through / We gotta hold on, when it feels like hope is gone / There is a remedy for you and me / We gotta hold on to each other, yeah.

People say, let it go / That’s just the way it is, don’t you know / But I don’t see how it can do any harm / To keep reaching out with open arms, yeah.

Repeat Chorus

Everybody (everybody), understands (hold on) / Everybody needs a helping hand / Oh, everybody, yeah (everybody) / They understand now everybody needs, everybody needs a helping hand, y’all /

Repeat Chorus

Hold on (hold on), hold on (hold on) / Oh to each other, yeah.

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