<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>An Analysis of <i>Holy Holy Hold Me</i> off of <i>The Witches Made Me Do It</i></strong><!--more--></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong><em>By Yannick Eike Mirko</em></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">Three weeks ago Ryan Cassata, the incredibly talented musician and activist, released </span><i><span style="font-weight:400;"><a href="http://hyperurl.co/WitchesRyanCassata">The Witches Made Me Do It</a>, </span></i><span style="font-weight:400;">a folk-rock concept LP covering a variety of social issues and topics including, but not limited to, the oppression of LGBTQ+ people, finding oneself in the midst of chaos, and challenging relationships with religion, going into the last one specifically in the song titled </span><i><span style="font-weight:400;">Holy Holy Hold Me. </span></i><span style="font-weight:400;">The song could very well be considered the emotional climax of the project, taking us through eight minutes and twenty one seconds of the emotions we bury within ourselves but happily analyse and spend time with through his portrayal of such issues. </span></p>
<p><span class="embed-youtube" style="text-align:center; display: block;"><amp-youtube data-videoid="Jf-pay3rq5g" data-param-rel="1" data-param-showsearch="0" data-param-showinfo="1" data-param-iv_load_policy="1" data-param-fs="1" data-param-hl="en-US" data-param-autohide="2" data-param-wmode="transparent" width="730" height="411" layout="responsive"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf-pay3rq5g" placeholder><amp-img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jf-pay3rq5g/hqdefault.jpg" alt="YouTube Poster" layout="fill" object-fit="cover"><noscript><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jf-pay3rq5g/hqdefault.jpg" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="YouTube Poster"></noscript></amp-img></a></amp-youtube></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">I’m sure there are many people who can relate to my experience with processing the song &#8211; laying on the floor of their room, wrecked out of their minds on so many nights since it’s come out, feeling a need to repeat the song because their thoughts and emotions have been read in a way that once felt impossible to understand by anyone and are now suddenly being shown to the world through a masterpiece.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;"> <img class=" wp-image-9907 alignleft" src="https://rockthepigeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/witchesalbumcoverbiggerfont.jpg" alt="Witches+Album+Cover+Bigger+Font" width="285" height="285" /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">A queer person’s relationship with religion can be more complicated than one would like, particularly when in love, and I can relate very much to Ryan’s ‘tug-of-war’ experience with Catholicism as a Queer, Transgender individual. It is so hard to discover that something that has been such a large fundamental part of your life disagrees with not only who you are as a person, but also with who you love. This song explains and describes the feelings that come with that through its lyrics and unspoken signals in musicality. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">The song dances around the general vicinity of a resting heart rate, which is heavily appropriate given the context. And the opening lyrics cut through your walls like a knife made of rose petals. </span></p>
<h3 style="text-align:center;"><em><strong><span style="color:#008000;">“Our bodies intertwine </span></strong></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align:center;"><em><strong><span style="color:#008000;">I set my heart on fire for you</span></strong></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align:center;"><em><strong><span style="color:#008000;">I’m walking on the wire between dreaming and reality</span></strong></em></h3>
<h3 style="text-align:center;"><em><strong><span style="color:#008000;">When we kiss I feel like I’m defying gravity”</p>
<p></span></strong></em><strong><span style="color:#008000;">(lyrics via </span></strong><strong><span style="color:#008000;"><a href="https://genius.com/Ryan-cassata-holy-holy-hold-me-lyrics">Genius</a>)</span></strong></h3>
<p><img class=" wp-image-9910 alignright" src="https://rockthepigeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/img_1997.jpg" alt="IMG_1997" width="259" height="345" /></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">The lyricism throughout the rest of the song continues to radiate the bittersweet realization that we wish so badly to be held by the person we’re drawn to and desire, and also wish to be held by the communities we’ve known and loved for so long. In an interview with <a href="https://www.pride.com/music/2020/3/27/how-ryan-cassata-used-rock-roll-heal-witches-made-me-do-it">Pride.com</a>, Ryan briefly talked about the experience of being met with negativity from the church he was a part of and even said it made him feel “&#8230; shameful for being queer for a really long time.” A sentiment many LGBTQ+ people, including myself, have felt and continue to feel. </span></p>
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<p><img class=" wp-image-9908 alignleft" src="https://rockthepigeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/img_1933.jpg" alt="IMG_1933" width="228" height="361" /></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">There have been so many times where I have been too afraid of my own thoughts to sit with them and decide whether or not I should feel okay with being myself or if I should focus on my faith and religion, and this song provides a safe space for that intimidating but essential internal dialogue. It also provides the very solid point that love, specifically queer love, is sacred and to be celebrated, rather than shamed or hidden. Some of the purest forms of expression in life come through honesty, love, and acceptance &#8211; meaning, there is a way to have faith in a relationship with someone, and simultaneously have faith in all other aspects of living including a God, if you choose to incorporate that.</span></p>
<p> ;</p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;"> <img class=" wp-image-9909 alignright" src="https://rockthepigeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/img_2732.jpg" alt="IMG_2732" width="303" height="404" /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">It is incredibly refreshing to hear such thorough thinking through an incredibly talented voice and artist such as Ryan Cassata. The entirety of this song walks us through a soundscape of peace, deep love for others, and a level of self-acceptance and love everyone should work harder to find within themselves.<br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight:400;">You can hear that this song, and the entirety of the LP, is made with so much intention and truth; it’s hard to listen to without feeling inspired to look into oneself. I heavily encourage taking the time to listen through </span><i><span style="font-weight:400;">The Witches Made Me Do It, </span></i><span style="font-weight:400;">taking a walk with yourself during </span><i><span style="font-weight:400;">Holy Holy Hold Me</span></i><span style="font-weight:400;">, and remembering that it’s going to be okay. Because as long as we have artists like him making a difference, things will be. </span></p>
<p>Stream <em>The Witches Made Me Do It</em> LP: <a href="http://hyperurl.co/WitchesRyanCassata">http://hyperurl.co/WitchesRyanCassata</a></p>
<p>Written by <em><span style="font-weight:400;">By Yannick Eike Mirko </span></em></p>
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<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-9911" src="https://rockthepigeon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/img_1996.jpg" alt="IMG_1996" width="2484" height="3312" /></p>
<p><em>[Photos of Ryan Cassata and Team provided by Ryan Cassata]</em></p>