Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
OUR HANDS ARE TIED
[Intro – Spoken, over guitar arpeggios]
He’s been here twenty-five years…
Built half this town…
Now they’re taking him down.
[Verse 1]
Steel and soil, brown and white,
Worked this ground from dawn to night.
Fabs are humming where the wheat once swayed,
And every dreamer helped get paid.
[Pre-Chorus]
But a siren cuts through Christmas cheer,
And every color fades to fear.
[Chorus]
Our hands are tied — they say it every time,
While Juan’s are zip-tied tight,
Thrown into that blue van in the light.
From Main Street to the courthouse side,
Freedom bleeds when truth’s denied —
Yeah, our hands are tied!
[Verse 2]
He built your decks, he trimmed your trees,
Fed the town with dignity.
Neighbors stare, they love that man,
But no one moves, they just stand.
[Instrumental Break – Flamenco Guitar + Drums]
(chant echo) “¡Levántate! … ¡Levántate!” (rise up!)
[Bridge]
Can’t you feel the ground come down?
When they push a good man to the ground?
The color of your skin should never define,
Who gets saved and who’s left behind.
[Chorus 2]
Our hands are tied,
But the rope’s our own design.
When silence serves the ones who lie,
We all get buried in the same old crime.
[Final Chorus – Big and Anthemic]
Our hands are tied —
But we can cut the line!
Stand with Juan beneath those lights,
Raise your voice, not just your sighs.
Hillsboro, don’t you hide —
Untie your hands tonight!
[Outro – Acoustic Fade, Whispered]
He built this town… don’t let it fall down.
© 2025 Dirk Knudsen. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by law.
OUR HANDS ARE TIED
[Intro – Spoken, over guitar arpeggios]
He’s been here twenty-five years…
Built half this town…
Now they’re taking him down.
[Verse 1]
Steel and soil, brown and white,
Worked this ground from dawn to night.
Fabs are humming where the wheat once swayed,
And every dreamer helped get paid.
[Pre-Chorus]
But a siren cuts through Christmas cheer,
And every color fades to fear.
[Chorus]
Our hands are tied — they say it every time,
While Juan’s are zip-tied tight,
Thrown into that blue van in the light.
From Main Street to the courthouse side,
Freedom bleeds when truth’s denied —
Yeah, our hands are tied!
[Verse 2]
He built your decks, he trimmed your trees,
Fed the town with dignity.
Neighbors stare, they love that man,
But no one moves, they just stand.
[Instrumental Break – Flamenco Guitar + Drums]
(chant echo) “¡Levántate! … ¡Levántate!” (rise up!)
[Bridge]
Can’t you feel the ground come down?
When they push a good man to the ground?
The color of your skin should never define,
Who gets saved and who’s left behind.
[Chorus 2]
Our hands are tied,
But the rope’s our own design.
When silence serves the ones who lie,
We all get buried in the same old crime.
[Final Chorus – Big and Anthemic]
Our hands are tied —
But we can cut the line!
Stand with Juan beneath those lights,
Raise your voice, not just your sighs.
Hillsboro, don’t you hide —
Untie your hands tonight!
[Outro – Acoustic Fade, Whispered]
He built this town… don’t let it fall down.
© 2025 Dirk Knudsen. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by law.
