Hold On

About this episode

This episode explores the story behind the song 'Hold On' and its impact on communities worldwide following a tragedy.

Six years ago, seventeen-year-old Finn Rooney killed himself in his home in Walden, Vermont. A couple days later, his community held a bonfire in the parking lot of Hazen Union High school in Hardwick. Hundreds of people came. Tom Gilbert, who organized the bonfire, asked his friend Heidi Wilson to write a song for the occasion. The song was called Hold On. She made sure it was a song everyone could sing. And they did. Now people are singing this song all over the world. People in Minneapolis have been singing it to ICE agents. They’re singing it for their neighbors who are afraid to leave their houses. They’re singing it in Wales and Australia and Iralend in solidarity with the people of Minneapolis. Peole are singing it all over, to give each other some comfort and some courage. This is a story about where that song came from and where it’s gone.

People in this episode

Host: Erica Heilman

Topics covered

• mental health
• community
• songwriting
• solidarity
• grief
• courage

Keywords

• Finn Rooney
• Hold On
• Tom Gilbert
• Heidi Wilson
• community song
• mental health
• solidarity
• grief
• Vermont

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Walden, Vermont, Hazen Union High school, Hardwick, Minneapolis, Wales, Australia, Iralend

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