Hands (Jewel song)

"Hands" is the first single released from American singer Jewel's second album, Spirit (1998). A "Christmas version" of the song appears on Joy: A Holiday Collection.

"Hands"
Single by Jewel
from the album Spirit
B-side	"Innocence Maintained" "Enter From The East (Acoustic)"
Released	October 16, 1998
Recorded	1998
Genre	Folk-pop
Length	3:47 (radio edit) 3:54 (album version)
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Jewel Kilcher, Patrick Leonard
Producer(s)	Patrick Leonard
Jewel singles chronology
"Morning Song" (1998) "Hands" (1998) "Down So Long" (1999)

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 still reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and the video reached number one on VH1's Top 10 Countdown. It also reached number one in Canada for one week and peaked within the top 30 in Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Music video

The video, directed by Nick Brandt, 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.

She explains the idea behind the video in an interview in 1998:

"I think the director just wanted to picture an earthquake. That gave the video a somber feel to the aftermath of the disaster."

The video was filmed at the Promenade apartment complex in West Covina, California. The apartments were vacant at the time of the filming of the video.

September 11 remix

Right after 9/11, 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 just one week after the tragedy, on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, and performed this song instead of the previously scheduled "Standing Still."

This song is also used during Rachel's Challenge.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1998–1999) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[1] 25 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[2] 1 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[3] 1 France (SNEP)[4] 96 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[5] 27 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] 35 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] 19 Poland (LP3)[8] 38 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[9] 35 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 41 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 6 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[12] 3 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[13] 7 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[14] 2 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[15] 4

Year-end charts Chart (1998) Position Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[16] 33 Chart (1999) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[17] 31 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[18] 8 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 54 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[20] 12 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[21] Gold 35,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Covers

In 2016, the song was covered by country singer Trisha Yearwood for the US version of the musical The Passion.

References

1. "Australian-charts.com – Jewel – Hands". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
2. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7466." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
3. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6993." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
4. "Lescharts.com – Jewel – Hands" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
5. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 48, 1998" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved August 31, 2010.
6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jewel – Hands" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
7. "Charts.nz – Jewel – Hands". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
8. "Notowanie nr887" (in Polish). LP3. January 29, 1999. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
9. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
11. "Jewel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
12. "Jewel Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
13. "Jewel Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
14. "Jewel Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
15. "Jewel Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
16. "RPM's Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of '98". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
17. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
18. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Adult Contemporary". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
19. "Billboard Top 100 – 1999". Retrieved August 28, 2010.
20. "1999 – The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 111 no. 52. December 25, 1999. p. 148. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
21. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 29, 2019.