Hands Clean

After Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie – the 1998 follow-up to her 1995 breakthrough Jagged Little Pill – Morissette joined MTV for an unplugged album, released in 1999.[2] Subsequently, she neither wrote nor composed for a few months, before developing a new album, through 2000 and 2001.[3] During that period, she acknowledged she had learned, "That men in positions of power were not to be entirely trusted with my body and soul just because they were older than me."[4]

According to Jennifer Vineyeard of MTV News, the new album's topic was "love, sex, cruelty – with the added vantage of years spent growing up and getting over the man who vexed her so."[5] Morissette wrote, composed, and produced Under Rug Swept by herself, claiming to have been inspired by events in her life, such as a break-up with her boyfriend and her contract renegotiation with Maverick.[3] "I started writing alone," she said, "and within the first week I'd written seven songs. So it was all really fast and accelerated, and I think 'Hands Clean' was maybe the tenth song that I wrote and I just wrote it with a guitar in a room."[5]

Of the 27 songs written for the album,[6] "Hands Clean" was picked to be the first single and was released on 8 February 2002.[7] Before its official release, the song debuted on German radio on Christmas Eve, 2001.[8]

"Hands Clean," written, composed, and produced entirely by Alanis Morissette, features a shuffling, largely acoustic-rock framework[9] and a "pure-pop" hook.[6] It is written in the key of G major, with a moderate tempo of 96 beats per minute. The introduction follows the chord progression of C–D–G/B–C that repeats throughout the song except for the bridge that is Em-C-G-D two times. Morissette's vocal range spans from the low-note of G4 to the high-note of G6.[10] The narrative voice of the song alternates; the verses are written from the presumed viewpoint of the other person in a relationship, an older man talking to a younger lover ("If it weren't for your maturity none of this would have happened/If you weren't so wise beyond your years I would've been able to control myself" [...] "I know you depend on me like a young thing would to a guardian/I know you sexualize me like a young thing would and I think I like it"), whereas the chorus and bridge represent her own feelings ("We'll fast forward to a few years later/And no one knows except the both of us/And I have honored your request for silence/And you've washed your hands clean of this").[9][11]

Lyrically, "Hands Clean" explores a past relationship and how its effects linger.[9] Jon Pareles of Rolling Stone went farther, writing that the song is about "an apparently matter-of-fact reminiscence of underage sex with a music-business mentor, an affair 'under rug swept.'"[11] However, he commented that the song holds not a hint of Lolita guilt, forbidden passion, or resentment compared to her furious take on the same situation in "Right Through You" on Jagged Little Pill.[11] Website Jam! Music dug deeper, writing that it "tells the story of her attempts to come to grips with an intergenerational affair that started when she was as young as 14,"[12] a statement also made by other critics.[13] In an interview for Q Magazine, Morissette confessed, "The grudge I hold is against myself for having been quiet for so long [...] I've covered his ass for so many years. So now it's almost like ... I wanted to liberate myself from not beating myself up any longer. It's almost irrespective of his involvement now; it's more about me and my relationship with my own past."[12]

In a track-by-track commentary on her album, Morissette further commented about the track:

"My intention in writing this song was to get to a place where I could be as truthful and as honest as I possibly could be about certain relationships in my past. It's definitely not with the intention of seeking any sort of revenge for the person who is at the heart of the song that I'm singing about, but it was in my silencing myself to protect somebody else that I was ultimately completely abandoning myself. And any time I speak untruths in my life, and often-times I feel by not speaking the truth, by being silent, there's an element of an untruth in that. Withholding the truth sometimes can feel just as horrible as a lie to me. So as I get older, I think I want more and more to introduce the bliss of speaking transparently and truthfully and as honestly as I possibly can, knowing that the truth in this case is my truth only."[14]

While choosing the song as a highlight from Under Rug Swept, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic compared its lyrics to her earlier hit "You Oughta Know," also noting that "this would all seem calculated, an attempt to regain her chart status, if Morissette wasn't so unabashedly earnest, seemingly unembarrassed by her confessions."[15] Stephen Thompson from The A.V. Club praised the track for being "a breezy new single" and "infectious enough to surpass the direst moment of 'Under Rug Swept.'"[16] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song "could even be seen as a sequel to 'You Oughta Know,'"[17] while Nikki Tranter of Popmatters compared the lyrical content on the song to her previous songs "Plastic" and "Jealous," from her first album, Alanis.[18] Larry Flick of Billboard Magazine noted that the track show[s] Morissette proudly wearing her affection for concise, pure-pop hooks,"[6] while Mark Blake of Q called it "one of the album's peaks."[19] Kitty Empire of NME wrote a mixed review to the track, although calling it "a tolerable enough tune, mind, for those who think their chocolate craving says something poignant about their inner selves."[20]

"Hands Clean" was a commercial success in many territories, reaching the top-ten in over six countries, while also reaching the top-twenty in seven others. In the United States, the song debuted at number 65 on the week of 8 February 2002,[21] moving to number 49 the following week.[21] The song cracked the top-forty in its third week, climbing to number 39 and peaked five weeks later at number 23,[22] due to an increase in radio play.[23] In other Billboard component charts, the song managed to reach number 19 on the Mainstream Top 40 and number three on the Adult Top 40. It is Morissette's only song to crack a Billboard year-end in a year other than 1996, as it narrowly cracked the 2002 year-end chart at number 95. In Canada, "Hands Clean" became her sixth number-one single.[24] In the United Kingdom, the song managed to debut at number twelve, becoming her highest since "Thank U" (1998) as well as her last top-twenty single on the UK charts.[25]

In Australia, "Hands Clean" debuted and peaked at number nine, on 8 February 2002. It became her highest-charting single there since "Ironic" in 1996 and her last to reach the top ten.[26] In New Zealand, the song experienced more success, debuting at number 48 but peaking at number one ten weeks later. It became Morissette's most successful single and first number-one hit,[27] while also receiving gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). The song also experienced commercial success in some European countries, such as Italy, where it reached number three,[28] Norway, peaking at number seven,[29] and Switzerland, reaching number five.[30]

Credits are lifted from the Canadian CD single liner notes.[35]

• Alanis Morissette – vocals, electric guitar
• Nick Lashley – guitar
• Joel Shearer – guitar
• Gary Novak – drums
• Tim Thorney – acoustic guitar
• Chris Bruce – bass
• Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
• Mark Stephens – piano

• Plugged in Online
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics