"Hands" is a song by American singer
Jewel, released as the first
single from her second studio album, ''
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
'' (1998). Jewel wrote the song following an incident in which she considered stealing a
sundress after getting fired from various jobs due to kidney troubles, and she decided that her hands were better suited to writing songs than stealing clothes. Written as one of the last songs for the album, the lyrics express how the smallest decisions have the power to make change. A piano-driven
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
, the song was serviced to American radio stations on October 7, 1998, ahead of its planned release date of October 19 due to a radio leak in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas.
No commercial single was issued in the United States, and the singles that were issued internationally received the album version. The radio edit can be found only on
promos for the single. Even without a physical release, the song reached number six on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, and the video peaked atop
VH1's Top 20 Countdown. "Hands" also reached number one in Canada for one week and peaked within the top 30 in Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. A "Christmas version" of the song appears on ''
Joy: A Holiday Collection''.
Background
In 2002, Jewel elaborated on the song's origin. Before she wrote "Hands", she experienced
kidney
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...
troubles that prevented her from working, and as a result, she was fired from several successive jobs, sending her into
poverty. She began to shoplift food but worried she would begin to steal more expensive items. One day, she noticed a
sundress in a shop window and went inside to try it on, planning to steal it. However, when she noticed the price tag, she decided against it. She explained:
Jewel quickly left the store, leaving the dress behind, and began to write "Hands" soon afterwards, referring to her own hands that would function better writing songs than stealing dresses. It was one of the final tracks written and recorded for ''
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
''.
The central lyrics that developed into the complete song were, "If you watch what your hands are doing, you can see where your life is going to go."
Composition and lyrics
Ilana Kaplan of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' has described "Hands" as a
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
. The album version is three minutes and fifty-four seconds long while the radio edit is three minutes and forty-seven seconds.
According to the digital sheet music published at Musicnotes, the song is written in
cut time
''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C with a vertical line through it), which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning th ...
() in the
key of
F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...
with a moderate
tempo
In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...
of 68 beats per minute.
The lyrics of "Hands" say that all people have the power to make their own decisions and change their lives for the better as long as they keep watch on what their hands are doing.
It is also about how the smallest actions can cause a difference. Jewel explained, "I knew if I could tell the world, my hands are so little, how can they have impact on the world? They seem like tiny little weapons. I can't fight with despair, thoughtlessness. They're not the solution, but they are the first step forward."
Critical reception
Chuck Taylor of ''
Billboard'' noted how Jewel's lyrics were "less girlish" and "creamier and more robust" than her
debut efforts on "Hands" and called the track "one hell of a new single". ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
'' named it the "Single of the Week" on their October 24, 1998, issue, describing the song as "delicious" and its chorus as "moving". Conversely,
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine referred to the song's lyrics as "startlingly naive".
Music video
The video, directed by
Nick Brandt
Nick Brandt (born 1964) is an English photographer. Brandt's work generally focuses on the rapidly disappearing natural world, as a result of environmental destruction, climate change and humans' actions.
Background and early career
Born in 19 ...
,
begins with Jewel driving along on a rainy night when she comes across emergency workers responding to a collapsed apartment building. She gets out of her car and stands with the crowd looking at the rubble and notices other onlookers walking away in horror and hopelessness. She follows others into the rubble and helps dig through the rubble for survivors, finding a man, alive, under the rubble and later three young children trapped inside a room. Throughout the whole video, she remains calm and collected, full of hope, as chaos ensues around her.
The video was filmed at the Promenade apartment complex in
West Covina, California
West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, located east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and is part of Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 106,098 at the 2010 census.
West Covi ...
on October 11 and 12, 1998.
The apartments were vacant at the time of the filming of the video.
September 11 remix
Right after the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
, a DJ remixed the song which was carried on stations across the country. Jewel was in the mountains with her longtime boyfriend, Ty Murray, during the attack, and she first heard this version on the radio a few days later—it was one of the first things she heard. She spoke of this experience at a Borders concert in
Ann Arbor, Michigan prior to the release of ''Perfectly Clear''. Jewel appeared on ''
Late Show with David Letterman'' one week after the incident, on September 18, 2001, and performed this song instead of the previously scheduled "
Standing Still."
Track listings
Australian and Japanese CD single, UK CD1
# "Hands" – 3:47
# "Innocence Maintained" – 4:08
# "Enter from the East" (acoustic) – 4:01
UK CD2
# "Hands" – 3:47
# "
Who Will Save Your Soul
"Who Will Save Your Soul" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jewel. It was the first song released from her first studio album, '' Pieces of You'' (1995), and became a hit in North America and Australasia, peaking at ...
" (live) – 4:08
# "
You Were Meant for Me" (live) – 4:01
German CD single
# "Hands" – 3:47
# "Enter from the East" (acoustic) – 4:01
Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the German CD single liner notes and the ''Spirit'' album booklet.
Studios
* Recorded and engineered at
Groove Masters (
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...
, California)
* Mixed at
Ocean Way Recording
Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...
(
Hollywood, California)
* Mastered at Gateway Mastering (
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
, US)
Personnel
* Jewel Kilcher – lyrics, music, vocals, backing vocals
*
Patrick Leonard
Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), ''Who's ...
– music, piano and keyboards, production
* Nedra Carroll – backing vocals
*
Brian MacLeod – drums and hand drum
*
Luis Conte
Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...
– percussion
* Paul Bushnell – bass
*
Jude Cole – acoustic guitar
* James Harrah – electric guitar
* Ross Hogarth – engineering
* Bob Salcedo – engineering assistant
* Sebastian Haimerl – engineering assistant
*
Kevin Killen
Kevin Killen (born October 22, 1959) is a music producer, engineer, and mixer. His work has been recognized by multiple awards and nominations, and he has worked with a range of recording artists including Shakira, Peter Gabriel, U2, David Bowie, ...
– mixing
* John Sorenson – mix engineering assistant
* Robi Banerji – mix engineering assistant
* David Channing – technical assistant
*
Bob Ludwig – mastering
* Nedra Carroll – management
* Brenda Rotheiser – art direction
*
Matthew Rolston
Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his career with the revival a ...
– photography
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1990s ballads
1998 singles
1998 songs
Atlantic Records singles
Jewel (singer) songs
Music videos directed by Nick Brandt
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Songs about poverty
Songs written by Jewel (singer)
Songs written by Patrick Leonard