From the recording THESE HANDS BUILT AMERICA
THESE HANDS BUILT AMERICA
If I could sit down at a kitchen table with one immigrant family and tell them why I wrote “These Hands Built America,” this is what I would say.
I’d pull up a chair, look across that table at the mother, the father, and their children, and before we talked about politics, borders, or anything else, I’d want them to hear four simple words from me: I see you.
I see the long hours, the early mornings, the tired hands, and the sacrifices you make for your family. I see the people working in our farms, kitchens, hotels, hospitals, warehouses, construction sites, and neighborhoods every day.
When I wrote this song, I wasn’t thinking about numbers or labels. I was thinking about families like yours. I was thinking about the hands that harvest our food, build our homes, prepare our meals, repair our roads, and come home at night hoping their children will have a better life.
That’s why the line “Estas manos built this land” means so much to me. Those are your hands. Working hands. Tired hands. Proud hands. Immigrant hands. American hands.
The Blue Wave Revival Band and I didn’t want to write a song that argued about you. We wanted to write a song for you. A song you could play for your children and say, “That’s our story too.”
Because America was never built by just one kind of person. You didn’t just come here looking for America. You became part of America. And with your own two hands... you helped build it.
Lyrics
[THESE HANDS BUILT AMERICA]
[Intro]
[Mexican acoustic guitar, warm trumpet]
[Spoken, older male voice]
My father told me something
when I was just a boy...
Never be ashamed
of the dirt on your hands.
It means you built something.
[Verse 1]
We came with hope inside our pockets,
Family pictures in our hands,
With our mothers' prayers behind us,
And dreams of this American land.
We picked the fields before the sunrise,
Laid the brick and poured the stone,
Cooked the meals and cleaned the offices,
Then worked another job back home.
[Pre-Chorus]
Don't tell us we don't belong here.
Don't tell us we haven't tried.
Look around at what we've given.
Our story's written far and wide.
[Chorus]
These hands built America,
Underneath that burning sun.
These hands raised our families,
And kept working till the work was done.
Somos familia,
Somos trabajadores.
We came with dreams inside our hearts.
These hands built America,
And we're proud to play our part.
[Instrumental]
[Trumpet and Mexican acoustic guitar]
[Verse 2]
Mama worked inside the kitchen,
Papa worked construction sites.
They came home tired every evening,
Then kissed their children goodnight.
They said, "Mijo, get your education.
Build a life that's better than mine."
So we became teachers and nurses,
And soldiers standing on the line.
Some wore uniforms for this country.
Some never made it home again.
Their names belong to America's story,
Beside every other fallen friend.
[Pre-Chorus]
We don't ask you for your pity.
We just ask you to understand.
Generations of our story
Are written in this American land.
[Chorus]
These hands built America,
Underneath that burning sun.
These hands raised our families,
And kept working till the work was done.
Somos familia,
Somos trabajadores.
Our roots run deeper than you know.
These hands built America,
And we're proud of what we sowed.
[Bridge]
[Acoustic guitar, soft trumpet]
[Spoken, intimate]
Maybe my English wasn't perfect.
Maybe my last name sounded different.
Maybe the food on our table
was different from yours.
But my children laughed the same.
My mother cried the same.
And when someone we loved
came home beneath an American flag...
We cried the same tears too.
[Instrumental]
[Emotional trumpet]
[Verse 3]
We harvested your Sunday dinner,
Built the rooftops overhead,
Mowed the lawns and paved the highways,
Made the hotel room and bed.
We opened stores and started businesses,
Bought a little place called home.
Raised our children to love this country,
While remembering where we're from.
And the Blue Wave Revival Band is singing
For every family chasing dreams,
For the people rarely mentioned
Who helped build everything you see.
[Chorus]
These hands built America,
Through the heat and through the rain.
Through the years of being overlooked,
Through the sacrifice and pain.
Somos familia,
Somos trabajadores.
We earned our place beneath this sky.
These hands built America,
And we're holding our heads up high.
[Instrumental Build]
[Trumpet, accordion, acoustic guitar]
[Key Change]
[Final Verse]
We're Mexican and American,
Two stories living side by side.
We carry both inside us.
We don't have to choose a side.
From California fields at sunrise
To Nevada's desert lights,
From kitchens, farms and construction yards
To soldiers standing watch at night.
The Blue Wave Revival Band keeps playing,
So these stories won't disappear.
Turn it up for every working family.
Let the whole country hear!
[Final Chorus]
These hands built America,
Every highway, field and town.
You can overlook the people,
But you can't erase what we've put down.
Somos familia!
Somos trabajadores!
We're your neighbors and your friends.
These hands built America,
And we'll keep building it again.
[Outro]
[Older male voice, intimate]
Mi abuelo built with these hands.
My father built with these hands.
I built with these hands.
And someday...
my children will too.
[Long Instrumental Outro]
[Mexican trumpet, acoustic guitar, accordion, electric guitar]
These hands built America...
Estas manos...
These hands.
[Trumpet outro]