Synopsis

Driving through a rainy night, Jewel comes upon an apartment building that has collapsed while emergency crews and bystanders gather around the wreckage. Rather than remain a passive observer, she joins the rescue effort, climbing into the debris and searching for survivors. Her persistence leads to the discovery of an injured man and three children trapped inside a room. Set against the song's message about personal responsibility and meaningful action, the video presents compassion and practical help as answers to fear, despair, and helplessness.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed on October 11 and 12, 1998, at the Promenade apartment complex in West Covina, California.

• Its disaster-rescue storyline translates the song's central idea into physical action: small, deliberate efforts can produce meaningful change.

• Jewel wrote "Hands" after kidney problems left her unable to keep several jobs. During a period of poverty, she considered stealing a sundress, then decided that her hands were better used for writing songs.

• "Hands" was the first single from Jewel's second album, "Spirit." It reached radio earlier than planned after a Dallas station obtained the song and began broadcasting it.

• Although the song became a major US hit, no commercial physical single was issued in the United States. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the video reached No. 1 on VH1's "Top 20 Countdown."

• After the September 11, 2001 attacks, a DJ-created remix of "Hands" circulated among radio stations. Jewel later performed the song on "Late Show with David Letterman" in place of the originally scheduled "Standing Still."