meantolearn  +  715666 Tue, 05 May 09 12:45 AM I want you to come back and carry me home Away from these long lonely nights I'm reaching for you, are you feeling it too Does the feeling seem oh so right And what would you say if I called on you now And saying that I can't hold on There's no easy way, it gets harder each day Please love me or I'll be gone, I'll be gone 1. what does 'reach for you' mean? Is it common usage? 2. Does 'called on you' mean 'asked you'? (It doesn't mean call by phone, does it?) 3. Does 'can't hold on' mean can't wait? Thanks meantolearn Joined on Thu, Feb 24 2005 Regular Member 808 I think; therefore I am. Usages, Songs

	Mr Wordy  +  715712 Tue, 05 May 09 01:17 AM 1. "Reaching for you" literally means holding out your hand so as to grasp someone else. Here it's used figuratively to mean "trying to make emotional contact with you" or "wanting to draw you here near to me", or something of that nature. It's common usage in the sense that all native speakers would understand it. But it's more the sort of expression you'd find in a song lyric or fictional dialogue than in real life. I doubt I've ever said it in my entire life, or heard anyone else say it.   2. To me, "called on you" here means something like "asked you for help/comfort", with the "called" part just hinting that the request might be made over the phone (allowing for artistic licence, since "called on you" usually means "visited"; called by phone would normally be "called you").   3. "Hold on" does often mean "wait", but the meaning of "can't hold on" here seems to tend towards "can't bear it any longer"; i.e. he's undergoing some sort of emotional discomfort that he wants relief from. Mr Wordy Joined on Tue, May 27 2008 Senior Member 2,359 Native British English speaker Writing, Usages, Songs, Lyrics

	meantolearn  +  715862 Tue, 05 May 09 04:12 AM Hi, Mr Wordy. Thanks for the details. They help a lot. MTL meantolearn