Lyrics:

The Song:

"Don't Let It Go" can be found on Beck's 2014 album, Morning Phase. Beck played it live once in 2013, likely before recording it for the album; that version is a little less adorned, but the arrangement and lyrics are more or less identical.

On record, "Don't Let It Go" ended up a haunting folky piece, with slowly-added layers. From the beginning, it is acoustic with bass, then some drums and piano come in, and then a mournful cello appears. I wonder if a fuller string section was considered? I like the lone cello though, it really fits well with that "don't let it go" melody.

I've read some criticism of Morning Phase, and some people maintain that the album rings hollow, lacking substance. While I don't exactly agree with that, I think to some extent, it holds for "Don't Let It Go." The song reads very vague, almost shockingly so. Beck, we know, did take a heavy editing hand to some of the songs, in order for it not to tread on too familiar ground (i.e., Sea Change heartbreak), and I wonder if that's what happened here.

On the other hand, the opening lines "you better save yourself from something you can't see" do seem to be purposefully non-specific. It's directed at something unseen. Maybe then, this was Beck's intention for the song. Don't lose your focus, whatever it is. There is something in your crosshairs, life will reveal itself if you don't lose it.

Live:

Played live 9 times:
Earliest known live version: May 19, 2013
Latest known live version: April 28, 2019

2013 pre-Morning Phase

Beck played an acoustic-oriented show in May 2013. They previewed a few songs that would later end up on Morning Phase. I do not know exactly the recording dates for the album, or if the live version in May was early in the song's development or after they had finished it off or what. Either way, this 'early' arrangement though is not far from what would end up on the album; some minor lyric fluctuations appear.

2014 Morning Phase tour

Somewhat surprisingly, on the proper Morning Phase tour of 2014, Beck rarely played "Don't Let It Go." There were just 5 versions, out of 57 shows. The arrangement on stage stuck to the way the record builds (adding one instrument at a time as the song progresses). Not much to them to be honest, though certainly sound pretty nice (especially in Roger's piano and duet with Beck at the end of the song).

2018 Colors tour

Beck did do a short acoustic section at most of his solo gigs on the Colors tour. He did try "Don't Let It Go" once, at a show in The Netherlands. However, he only did the first verse before quitting, commenting how he had not really done it in a few years.

2019 post-Colors shows

Beck played a short charity show at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, at which he dug out a lot of older acoustic songs, as well as a number of his Sea Change/Morning Phase ones. One he dug out was "Don't Let It Go," and he did it with Roger on piano and Jason on acoustic guitar.