Songfacts®:

• This horn-fuelled anthem pairs Natalie Merchant's singular vocals with the tones of gospel singer Abena Koomson-Davis from the Resistance Revival Chorus.
  
  They first sang together at New York's Radio City Music Hall during a socially distanced concert. The musicians united to express gratitude and appreciation to frontline healthcare workers for their heroic efforts during the pandemic. "That was very moving and our voices suited each other's so I said to Abena, 'Will you record with me?' She replied, 'Name the date,'" Merchant recalled to UK newspaper The Sun.
• Merchant wrote both "Big Girls" and another Keep Your Courage track, "Come On, Aphrodite," with Koomson Davis in mind. "Big Girls" acknowledges suffering and loss, but also serves as an encouragement for people to believe they have the strength to carry on. It's "about sisterhood and supporting each other, recognizing that we all share the same kind of pain at some point in our lives," Merchant told Uncut magazine.
• See clouds are bursting and the water's rising fast
  Hold on, hold on!
  Stop the wrecking ball or the walls are coming down
  Hold on, hold on!
  
  The song is rich with imagery depicting disaster, while the orchestration of strings and brass steadily builds to a powerful crescendo. "Then Abena sings, 'Hold on, hold on!' even though she swore she couldn't sing that high," Merchant told The Sun.
• Keep Your Courage is Natalie Merchant's first full-length studio album since her 2014's self-titled record. It was inspired by her journey of undergoing surgery and battling an anaplasmosis infection, ultimately leading to sepsis. Throughout this challenging time, Merchant found healing and solace through the love and care bestowed upon her by others. "Lyrically, there's a lot of talk about love in many different forms and many different attitudes towards love," she told Uncut.