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The Hands That Built America




  Cover Gangs_of_ny_soundtrackjpg
  Artist U2
  Released December 17 , 2002
  Track No 4
  Genre Rock
  Length 4:35 <small>(soundtrack mix)
  Writer U2
  Label Interscope
  Producer The Edge
  Misc {{Extra tracklisting
  AltAlbum The Best Of 1990-2000
  Type greatest
  Length 4:57 <small>(studio mix)
  Label Island
  Prev Track " Until The End Of The World "
  Prev No 10
  This Track "The Hands That Built America"
  Track No 11
  Next Track " Discothèque "
  Next No 12




"The Hands That Built America" is a song by 's " Lose Yourself ."


COMPOSITION

"The Hands That Built America" is a song about New York . The first verse of the song makes reference to the Irish Potato Famine , and the resulting emigration of hundreds of thousands of Irish people to the United States ; a fact reflected in the Demographics of New York City. The second and third verses relate to the American Dream , and the ideals that hard work can bring a person prosperity. The final verse is about September 11th .


SOUNDTRACK AND INSPIRATION

The soundtrack mix of the song features Andrea Corr , who played the Tin Whistle , and Sharon Corr who played the violin. Liner Notes of "The Hands That Built America"

The title of the song was inspired by Horslips title track to their album "The Man Who Built America" with the full blessing of Horslips singer and bass player Barry Devlin, who had also produced a number of U2 videos.


LIVE HISTORY


U2 have performed this song live in its entirety seven times, the first being at the premiere of ''Gangs of New York'' on December 9 2002 , and the last occurrence done solely by Bono and The Edge as an acoustic performance at the opening of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 18th , 2004 . All times "The Hands That Built America" has been played live

Although "The Hands That Built America" has not been played live since 2004, it was included in the Vertigo Tour (2005-2006) many times as a Snippet during the song " Bullet The Blue Sky ", along with other songs such as " Please " and " When Johnny Comes Marching Home ".


MUSIC VIDEOS

Two different music videos were created for "The Hands That Built America". The first uses a combination of black and white footage of the band playing the song, and scenes from ''Gangs of New York''. This video uses the version of the song found on ''The Best of 1990-2000''.

The second video is comprised solely of black and white footage U2 playing the song. This video uses an acoustic version of the song.


TRIVIA

  • A handwritten version of the lyrics appears in an exhibit at the Clinton Presidential Library.



SEE ALSO



REFERENCES




EXTERNAL LINKS



  Before " Until "<br>from '' Kate & Leopold ''
  Title Golden Globe For Best Original Song
  Years 2002
  After "''