Songfacts®:

• Keyboardist Ben Romans told us about this song: "There's one that Ethan (Mentzer, C5 bass player) wrote called 'Don't Let Me Go,' and he started writing that when we were on tour in Asia, a long time ago. We started kicking it around. What was really powerful was we recently did a campaign in southeast Asia to help in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation. That was for MTV Exit. So while we were over there, one of the most powerful things we got to do, we were playing a concert, and we got to play Angar Wat Temple in the jungle, all kinds of stuff that completely blew our minds. I think one of the most powerful things, we got to visit the Somaly Mam Foundation shelter. It's basically sex trafficking victims, and it was really heavy. It's very easy to go Cambodia and get the kid over to somebody else, and that's where they get sold into slavery. And that's basically what it is, a very severe form of modern slavery. So after we hung out for a while with everybody and kind of got to know their stories, we played some songs, but the one that really stuck out was 'Don't Let Me Go.' The song talks about hanging on. One of most powerful lyrics is "You try to hide your scars, and all the while don't let me go, don't turn away." When that happened, they translated it, and it was just one of those moments.
  A couple of kids knew English, and you could just see it. And it was one of most powerful shows, because it wasn't even a show, it was just playing in a room. But I'm such a fan of communication and songwriting, and that was a true moment where somehow it really communicated. Here we are in Cambodia with these victims... that was really powerful – that's what we think of when we play that song. I think MTV Exit might do the video for the song this year, we'll see. They did Radiohead's 'All I Need' last year for the video. So just to even have them think about it, it's a real honor, because it's an amazing campaign."
  
  When Ben talks about the song being translated, he clarifies: "Well, it wasn't even a show, it was in a shelter. So it was just a lot of conversation. We had a translator, because a lot of the kids spoke Cambodian. They call it Khmer. They asked if we could say the lyrics so they could translate it, and they did, and it was really powerful, because I think the kids really locked into it." (Check out the full Ben Romans interview.)
• From the Somaly Mam Website: "Born to a tribal minority family in the Mondulkiri province of Cambodia, Somaly Mam began life in extreme poverty. With limited options as a severely marginalized ethnic group, and living in unimaginable despair, her family often resorted to desperate means to survive. This confluence of dire circumstances led to the unspeakable horrors that would mark Somaly's early years. Somaly was sold into sexual slavery by a man who posed as her grandfather. To this day, due to the passing of time and the unreliability of a wounded memory, Somaly still does not know who this man was to her. Yet his actions set her on an unimaginable path fraught with danger, desperation, and ultimately... triumph.
  Forced to work in a brothel along with other children, Somaly was brutally tortured and raped on a daily basis. One night, she was made to watch as her best friend was viciously murdered. Fearing she would meet that same fate, Somaly heroically escaped her captors and set about building a new life for herself. She vowed never to forget those left behind and has since dedicated her life to saving victims and empowering survivors.
  In 1996, Somaly established a Cambodian non-governmental organization called AFESIP (Agir Pour les Femmes en Situation Precaire). Under Somaly's leadership, AFESIP employs a holistic approach that ensures victims not only escape their plight, but have the emotional and economic strength to face the future with hope. With the launch of The Somaly Mam Foundation in 2007, Somaly has established a funding vehicle to support anti-trafficking organizations and to provide victims and survivors with a platform from which their voices can be heard around the world.
  For her tireless efforts, Somaly has justifiably garnered world-wide respect and is now a renowned leader at the forefront of the anti-trafficking struggle. Universally recognized as a visionary for her courage, dignity, ingenuity, and resilience, Somaly was honored as one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2009 and was featured as a CNN Hero. She is also the recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, The World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child (WCPRC), Glamour Magazine's 2006 Woman of the Year Award, and has won accolades from the US Department of Homeland Security.
  But Somaly's success has come at a price. She and her family have faced terrifying death threats and violence. Asked why she continues to fight in the face of such fierce and frightening opposition, Somaly resolutely responds, "I don't want to go without leaving a trace."
  Despite the fact that she is known the world over and has certainly earned a life of luxury and repose, Somaly continues to lead a simple life and works hard in the Cambodian recovery centers, living among the women and children she rescues and staying by their side as they walk the difficult path to recovery and freedom."