Red Hands (song)
{{For|the children's game|Red hands}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Red Hands
| cover = WOTE - Red Hands.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Walk off the Earth
| album = R.E.V.O.
| released = {{Start date|df=yes|2012|11|2}}
| recorded = 2012
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Indie rock|alternative rock}}
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=01}}
| label = Columbia
| writer = {{hlist|Ryan Marshall|Gianni "Luminati" Nicassio|Sarah Blackwood|Thomas "Tawgs" Salter}}
| producer = {{hlist|Tawgs Salter|Walk Off the Earth}}
| prev_title = Somebody That I Used to Know
| prev_year = 2012
| next_title = Gang of Rhythm
| next_year = 2013
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|1bt-FHaFVH8|"Red Hands"}}}}
}}
"Red Hands" is a song by Canadian indie rock group Walk off the Earth. It was released on November 2, 2012 as the second single from their third studio album, R.E.V.O. (2013). The song was written by group members Ryan Marshall, Gianni "Luminati" Nicassio, and Sarah Blackwood, with additional writing from its co-producer Tawgs Salter.
Following its release, the song became a commercial success in North America. It reached number 9 on the Canadian Hot 100, surpassing the chart peak of its predecessor, and also topped the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart in the US.
Background and writing
According to band member Gianni Luminati: "'Red Hands' is pretty open to interpretation and will mean different things to different people. When we originally wrote the song, we were thinking about taking responsibility for your actions and standing up on your own when things go wrong ... rather than blaming other people around you. Sometimes you just have to accept the circumstances that are thrown your way without pointing the finger."{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2012/10/09/162578994/first-watch-walk-off-the-earth-red-hands|title=First Watch: Walk Off The Earth, 'Red Hands'|author=Bob Boilen|publisher=NPR|date=November 1, 2012|accessdate=June 16, 2013}}
Music video
The music video for "Red Hands", directed by Ellis Bahl, is shot as a one take sequence of the song in a different order with parts filmed at a higher speed and others at a lower speed so the final result would present the song in its normal order with reshuffled images of the single take. To make the sequence possible, the band members had to learn the song in the rearranged order (with parts sung backwards). Bahl states in the 'Behind the scenes' video{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itBqGwvSJ38|title=Red Hands - Behind the Scenes - Walk Off The Earth|publisher=YouTube|date=November 20, 2012|accessdate=June 20, 2013}} that it took nine full takes to complete the video and only the very last take is used for the actual video. The video premiered on NPR's All Songs Considered on November 1, 2012 and was uploaded on YouTube the next day.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bt-FHaFVH8|title=Red Hands - Walk Off The Earth|publisher=YouTube|date=November 2, 2012|accessdate=June 20, 2013}} On November 8, the unedited version of the video was also uploaded on YouTube.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OtOnZeQ9IM|title=Red Hands - Unedited Version - Walk Off The Earth|publisher=YouTube|date=November 8, 2013|accessdate=June 20, 2013}}
On March 5, 2013, the band uploaded an alternative version of the song on YouTube, appropriately named 'Big Guitar Version',{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVeES2VTBiM|title=Red Hands (Big Guitar Version) - Walk Off The Earth|publisher=YouTube|date=March 5, 2013|accessdate=June 20, 2013}} with all five band members playing an oversized guitar - found in a pawn shop like stated in the video comments - thus echoing their rendition of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" uploaded one year and two months before.
The song was performed live to close out "Blast from the Past", an episode of The Listener.{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/TheListener/article/Walk-off-the-Earth-to-guest-star-on-e28098Listenere28099-premiere |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606203755/http://www.ctv.ca/TheListener/article/Walk-off-the-Earth-to-guest-star-on-e28098Listenere28099-premiere |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |title=The Listener - News - Walk off the Earth to guest star on 'Listener' premiere - CTV |publisher=Ctv.ca |date=2013-05-29 |accessdate=2014-06-04}}
Charts
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| Chart (2012–2013)
! Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|Australiapandora|59|url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20130507222200/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20130508-0822/Issue1210.pdf|urltitle=Aria Report: Issue #1210|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=February 3, 2018}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} |
| {{singlechart|Canada|9|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 5, 2012}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcanadaac|11|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=December 30, 2016}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcanadachrtop40|8|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=December 30, 2016}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcanadahotac|3|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=December 30, 2016}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardcanadarock|33|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=May 20, 2020}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardbubbling100|14|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 5, 2012}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardadultpopsongs|14|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=July 29, 2013}} |
| scope="row"| US Heatseekers Songs (Billboard){{cite web|title=Walk Off the Earth – Chart history|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/1553858/walk-off-the-earth/chart?f=887|publisher=Billboard Heatseekers Songs for Walk Off the Earth|accessdate=December 30, 2016}}
| 21 |
| {{singlechart|Billboardrocksongs|15|artist=Walk Off the Earth|rowheader=true|accessdate=December 30, 2016}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{certification Table Top}}
{{certification Table Entry|type=single|digital=true|region=Canada|artist=Walk off the Earth|title=Red Hands|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=2013|relyear=2013}}
{{certification Table Bottom|format=3col | noshipments=true}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
Category:Songs written by Tawgs Salter
Category:Walk Off the Earth songs
{{2012-single-stub}}