7. Healing Hands (2:43) Words & music by Rex Benson & Steve Gillette

Co-written with Rex Benson, and another one recorded by Don Williams, this song has been used in tributes to health workers, especially since the onset of the pandemic.

Rex and I were making the assumption that we could start with the child's memory of and love for the grandparents and move toward a general statement about how to be in the world. 'To lend a hand in this troubled world," is the way we settled on putting it in the chorus, and of course to use the language of hands, fingers, touch, etc.

The March 31, 2020 edition of the New York Times reported that: "The coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 30,000 people in New York City, is beginning to take a toll on those who are most needed to combat it: the doctors, nurses and other workers at hospitals and clinics. In emergency rooms and intensive care units, typically dispassionate medical professionals are feeling panicked as increasing numbers of colleagues get sick."

Many of us have loved ones in the midst of this calamity in one role or another. In terms of this song, and songs which are meant to celebrate the best of human compassion and care, we struggle to find our way, to center on "right action" and forbearance. Sometimes the best thing a songwriter can do is to raise a song which can resonate and reassure and if possible give direction. Recalling previous generations who came through difficult times without necessarily mentioning the specifics does seem to allow the song to resonate with people of a wider range of experience and world view.

(BMI)

Read more on my About the Song website here