Songfacts®:

• This song finds Colbie Caillat figuring out what to do about her relationship with her lover, which is on the verge of collapse. The song was released on November 19, 2013 as the original lead single from Gypsy Heart. However after selling poorly it was scrapped from all versions of the album apart from the German edition.
• "Hold On" was co-written and produced by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. Caillat has known Tedder since she was a teenager, and she previously worked with the songwriter on her 2011 album All of You.
• With a pounding drumbeat and multiple vocal tracks, the song is a departure from Caillat's previous mellow acoustic work. "It's always good to grow as an artist," the singer told USA Today. "I like that when I sing it, I feel rad - 'rad' is my word right now. The production that Ryan used, the second the music comes on, I get in the moment. It makes me come alive, and it makes me want to perform."
• The lyrics were inspired by Caillat's own experiences with broken-down relationships, where she's been the one urging to give it another shot. "I know a lot of people can relate, it's like the game of love," she told Billboard magazine. "When I was writing with Ryan it was basically about, 'You're ready to let go of this person, and the second you do, that's when they're all about you. They pull their same spiel where they back away, and you only want them more.'"