Hands

A great song by Phil Ochs which he never recorded. Some time after Phil's death in 1976 Peter Benson gave to Phil's sister Sonny a tape of a 1964 concert at the NYC Gaslight including this song. Jim Glover transcribed the song for SingOut! magazine in 1980s, but modified the lyrics to credit women as well as men in building the country (see chorus). I first heard the song in the 1998 compilation of Phil Ochs songs -- What's That I Hear? -- done by Pat Humphries (now of Emma's Revolution).
Lyrics:
I've seen the hands of laborer that lifted all the loads
Granite stuck to their fingers as they dug the canals and the roads
Now they're cleared and the bridges span rivers paused by power dams
And now the hand of the laborer is reaching out to you
Chorus:
Oh, the hands, hands, hands that work to build land, land, your land
The labor of the woman and the man workin' with their hands
I've seen the hands of the miners digging out the coal.
The black dust stuck to their fingers as they lived their life in a hole.
Now the rock is still under the ground, and the mine is closing down.
And now the hand of the miner is reaching out to you. (chorus)
I’ve seen the hands of the lumberjack; forests swaying in the breeze.
Splinters stuck to their fingers as lumber was torn from the trees.
Now the wood from the timbers tall has built your buildings from wall to wall.
And now the hand of the lumberjack is reaching out to you. (chorus)
I’ve seen the hands of the farmer plowing across the fields.
Topsoil stuck to their fingers as the land was split by the steel.
Growing all that they could grow, to fill your tables row after row.
And now the hand of the farmer is reaching out to you. (chorus)

[@worldpoetry3161]

Great song, great voice

[@BillDolton]

Thank you!

[@ericabraham6874]

What a great song!

[@BillDolton]

Thanks, Eric!

[@WyattG.-ls1bh]

Great cover, any source for the chords?