Meaning of Take That’s Keep Your Head Up
Take That is a 1990s’ pop group, originally being a boy band, that has proven especially resilient throughout the years. For instance, all of their albums have for the most part been critical and successful, despite the fact that the crew had gone on hiatus for roughly a decade, from 1996 to 2005. Also this act was originally a quintet though lost a couple of members, including Robbie Williams, who went on to have a very-notable solo career. Yet the remaining participants – Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Gary Barlow – continue to do their thing, which includes dropping Take That’s ninth-studio album, This Life, on 24 November 2023. And along with that issuance we get Keep Your Head Up, which is the opening track on the project’s playlist.
Writing and Production Credits
It is the aforementioned Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen, all of whom were founding members of Take That, who wrote this song, with its producer being Ryan Carline.
Other Facts
Keep Your Head Up is a product of British label EMI Records (with Take That also being from England), and This Life marks the first album that the group has released under said company.
There are a number of songs out there titled Keep Your Head Up or something similar. But to note, this track is obviously an original, not a cover.
The Lyrics
As illustrated in this track’s only verse, the sentiments expressed are based on the premise of the addressee being someone who is facing an “uphill” battle, one which is such that s/he feels stagnated, at a loss and under constant pressure to keep moving. Or another way of looking at it is as said addressee being under a high level of stress and in a situation whereas there is no end to that malady in sight.
But Gary and the boys are encouraging this person to “keep your head up”. That colloquial term serves the purpose of inspiring the addressee to remain optimistic. And what that more specifically means in context is that this practice should practice mental fortitude, besides finding passion in their endeavors and using that as fuel to keep forging ahead, as opposed to being compelled to give up or lose faith.
