“What shall I do with these hands of mine?” It’s a universal question each one of us must answer.
Some hands have held the world together
Some hands have fought wars forever
Tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine
Some hands have blessed a million people
Some hands have helped free the world from evil
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine
So sang Nova Scotian troubadour Dave Gunning as he began his inspiring rendition of These Hands to an already mesmerized audience, which later joined in as he led us through the chorus:
What shall I do with these hands of mine
What shall I do with these hands of mine
The world could use a hero of the human kind
So tell me what shall I do with these hands of mine
Gunning performed at the Salmon Brook Music Series in Granby, CT on November 4, 2016, and to the series’ loyal fans he made a lasting impression. “It’s been a month and I’ve listened to his CDs every day since his concert!” exclaimed a friend. I have, too. Every day!
“Gunning is the next big thing in the True North of Song, an artist as compelling, as assured and attentive to every nuance of the writing process, as Lightfoot, Cockburn and Stan Rogers before him,” acclaimed the Toronto Star.
He’s fun, he’s uplifting, he’s full of hope. Gunning’s music offers a compelling voice of conscience with a call to action, accompanied by infectious, humor-laced heart-warming stories of his life growing up in Nova Scotia.
“As a fervent hockey fan, Gunning was also thrilled to win the CBC’s hotly-contested Hockey Night In Canada Song Quest in 2014 with A Game Goin’ On, a co-write with David Francey,” as highlighted on his website.
Gunning’s Sing It Louder, “a tribute to Pete Seeger,”is a song with lyrics as compelling as These Hands:
Across the valleys and up through these hills
There’s a feeling all over this land
That if we stand and rise together
There is change within our power
I am preaching to the choir to sing it louder
I am preaching to the choir to sing it louder
We need his voice. We need his inspiration. We need his hope.
Listen again to another impassioned version of These Hands sung at a fund raiser for the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
We must answer his question — what shall we do with these hands of ours? And while we do, we want Dave to return to Granby. And soon!
What shall we do when he returns?
We shall pack the house, and sing it louder!
Don Shaw, Jr.
Writer and Editor
RedTruckStonecatcher.com
Red Truck Stonecatcher 