To Have And Not To Hold
Lyrics
To have and not to hold
So hot yet so cold
My heart is in your hand
And yet you never stand
Close enough for me to have my way
To love but not to keep
To laugh not to weep
Your eyes they go right through
And yet you never do
Anything to make me want to stay
Like a moth
To a flame
Only I
Am to blame
Ba ba da ba ba ba, what can I do
Ba ba da ba ba ba, I go straight to you
Ba ba da ba ba ba, I've been told
You're to have not to hold
To look but not to see
To kiss but never be
The object of your desire
I'm walking on a wire
And there's no one at all
To break my fall
Like a moth
To a flame
Only I
Am to blame
Ba ba da ba ba ba, what can I do
Ba ba da ba ba ba, I go straight to you
Ba ba da ba ba ba, I've been told
You're to have not to hold
You're to have not to hold
You're to have
Not to hold
Like a moth
To a flame
Only I
Am to blame
Ba ba da ba ba ba, what can I do
Ba ba da ba ba ba, I go straight to you
Ba ba da ba ba ba, I've been told
You're to have not to hold
You're to have not to hold
You're to have not to hold
You're to have
Not to hold
Credits
Written by Madonna and Rick Nowels
Produced by Madonna, William Orbit and Patrick Leonard
Album
Song
This song was one of the first songs Madonna wrote for the album, teaming up with longtime collaborator Pat Leonard. She sings about an impossible love. Notice the connection with the theme of Forbidden Love: 'rejection is the greatest aphrodisiac'.
To Have And Not To Hold was a B-single for Nothing Really Matters (US).