refrain

To hold back; restrain; curb; keep from action.

To forbear; abstain from; quit.

To forbear; abstain; keep one's self from action or interference.

A burden or chorus recurring at regular intervals in the course of a song or ballad, usually at the end of each stanza.

The musical phrase or figure to which the burden of a song is set. It has the same relation to the main part of the tune that the burden has to the main text of the song.