Lyrics: Hands
(Verse one: Britney Spears + Gwen Stefani)
Can hold a gun
And hold your heart
Can put out fires
And make 'em start
Skin and bones
And flesh and blood
With all this nerve
How did we get this numb?
(Pre chorus: Meghan Trainer + Troye Sivan)
'Cause they can hurt
Or they can heal
They can give back
Or they can steal
They can break the world
Or they can change it too
(Chorus: all together)
Ooh hands
Hands
Whooah hands
Oh hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
Or they can change it too
Ooh hands
(Verse 2: Selena Gomez + Kacey Musgraves)
Doesn't matter
Who you love
All that matters
Is you love
I've been watching the news
And seeing all this hate
Tell me is it wrong
To want a little change
(Pre chorus: Mary J. Bilge)
They can hurt
Or they can heal
They can give back
Or they can steal
They can break the world
Or they can change it too
(Chorus: all led by Jason Derulo)
Ooh hands
Woooo hands
Oh hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
Or they can change it too
Ooh hands
(Post chorus: led by Imagine Dragons)
A million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
A million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
A million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
(Bridge: Jennifer Lopez)
Can hold a gun
And hold your heart
Can put out fires
And make 'em start
I've been watching news
And seeing all this hate
Tell me is it wrong
To want a little change?
(Chorus: Adam Lambert + Tyler Glenn + Pink + MNEK)
Ooh hands
Hands
Whoooah Hands
Hands
Cause they can love
Or they can take
They can fight up
Until they save
They can break the world
They can change it too
Ooh hands
(Post chorus led by Imagine Dragons)
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
(Outro: Ru Paul + Mary Lambert + Nate Ruess)
Just take my hand baby
Everybody's in love
All that matters is you love
Change it or break it
They can love or they can take it all
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
If a million hands can build a wall
A million hands can break it down
Whooooah, Whooooah
“Hands”, available now exclusively on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/HandsTribute
These are pictures of survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing visiting the survivors of the violence of Pulse. This one made me cry. No caption needed. This amazing woman lost her legs in an unthinkable act of hate and violence but still spreads love and hope. We all need to be a bit more like her!
From genius.com, "Hands is a charity single honoring the victims of the 2016 Orlando shooting at gay nightclub Pulse, released by Interscope Records and GLADD on July 6, 2016.
The song features vocals from Mary J. Blige, Jason Derulo, Britney Spears, Tyler Glenn, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Ty Herndon, Imagine Dragons, Juanes, Adam Lambert, Mary Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles , Kacey Musgraves, MNEK, Alex Newell, Pink, Prince Royce, Nate Ruess, Ru Paul, Troye Sivian, Jessie Smollet, Gwen Stefani, and Meghan Trainer."
Co-writter, Justin Trantor told Billboard that the artists recorded the song in various cities with the brunt of the artists doing so in Los Angeles.
"Mary J Bilge recorded in New Orelenes, Britaney Spears in Thousand Oakes, I think Pink in Santa Barbara. MNEK recorded at home in London. Selena Gomez recorded in her studio bus. Dan Reynolds recorded in his home. Adam Lambert was in Luxembourg. Ty Herndon the country star was in Spain. Kacy Musgraves was in Nashville.
Everyone just got it done. The song is being promoted on social media with the hashtag #ForThe49
Proceeds from the iTunes sales of Hands will benefit Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the GLBT Community Center of Florida and GLADD.
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old American security guard, killed 49 people and wounded 53 others inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. He was shot and killed by Orlando police police after a three hour stand-off. Pulse was hosting Latin night and most of the victims were Hispanic. It was both the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman and the deadliest incident against LGBT people in US since the September 11 attacks in 2001. It was also considered a hate crime."
Also from Bilboard July 6, 2016
Justin Trantor co author of Hands with Julie Michaels said, "Like the rest of the world I woke up to the news that morning and was horrified and sad and scared," says Trantor, 36, who has raised money and awaerness for LGBT since coming out at 14.
Hands arrives tonight on iTunes. The idea for the all-star project came together one day after the shooting. L.A. based Tranter and songwriting partner Julia Michaels had been on the road with Gomez writing songs aboard her tour bus in Miami the weekend of June 11 when news of the bloodshed prompted Trantor to change course. That afternoon he signed on as a volunteer at The Center Orlando, the region's chief LGBT community center....
Beyond their immediate efforts- distributing food and water, both Trantor and the GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, we're both looking to make contributions that would have ongoing benefits.
Ellis said, "When you hear the song it talks about hate being the driver here and that's important because we have to be able to identify what's driving these cruel acts in order to stop them. Artists using their platforms to accelerate acceptance is very powerful."
Trantor continued," The song writers had no specific plan as they entered the studio--only that they didn't want the piece to sound dated. We didn't want any trendy electronic elements...we wanted it to sound classic, timeless, and human. We want this anthem of positivity to be played for years to come."
Shout out to our fellow firebreathers at Imagine Dragons France! They posted the new song featuring Imagine Dragons on Twitter before the band had a chance to make a post about it. Hats off to a strong Internet game!
A final thought from your moderator, I wish this message through song to travel to all corners of the world. Perhaps it can help change someone's mind about using their hands to do unkind things. I wish that people would please reconsider the idea that someone different should absolutely be killed.
Whenever my heart is broken, Imagine Dragons is responsible for gluing all of the pieces back together. I hope you found the song uplifting and I hope your hands will now head over to iTunes and support this movement of love and support by Imagine Dragons!
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