Hands

"Hands" is a song by American singer Jewel, released as the first single from her second studio album, Spirit (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, the song was serviced to American radio stations on October 16, 1998. 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.[2] It 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.