Magnolia Mountain - The Hand of Man

"The Hand of Man", from the 2011 "Music for the Mountains" compilation album and benefit concert spearheaded by Mark Utley of the Cincinnati roots/Americana band Magnolia Mountain. This song also appears on Magnolia Mountain's 2012 album "Town and Country".

www.magnoliamountain.net

Video edited by Robert Fugate of Mind Ignition with Mark Utley.
Performance footage shot by Cliff Jenkins with Robert Fugate and John Oaks.
Still photography by Chris Kromer.
After Effects Artist - Andrew J. Brown of Piñata Productions.
MTR Footage courtesy of Mari-Lynn Evans of Evening Star Productions, Videographers: Jordan Freeman and Jay Johnson.

THE HAND OF MAN

West Virginia mountain home
Seven generations born
Men all worked to mine the coal
Spent our lives down in that hole
Company found a cheaper way
Blast the mountaintops away
Killing everything around
To get that coal out of the ground

'Twas the hand of man brought a mountain down
Oh, the hand of man brought a mountain down

White Star Holler was my home
Shared the crops that we had grown
Shared the water from our well
Shared the life we loved so well
Coal men brought the mountain down
Leaked their poison underground
Mother, neighbor, friend, and son
Cancer took them every one

'Twas the hand of man brought a mountain down
Oh, the hand of man brought a mountain down

They say our nation needs our coal
And that is worth our lives and homes
We have no wealth, we have no voice
We have no power and no choice

'Twas the hand of man brought a mountain down
Oh, the hand of man brought a mountain down
'Twas the hand of man brought a mountain down
Oh, the hand of man brought a mountain down

Written by Mark Utley (Sleep Cat Music BMI)

• Category

  Music

[Maria Gunnoe]

Great job.. Wonderful tune and voices behind a horrible message. Thank you for spreading the word. We all know there is no jobs on a dead planet and we know dead people can't work.

music is sooo powerful..

[Naturalist Bent]

All the destruction done today that assaults our land, our sensibilities... Mountain top removal, Tar sands mining, hydrofracking, rare earth minerals mining, oil drilling, It is done by economic zombies in pursuit of money. No morality in it... all the death... supports a certain "lifestyle". Think about that every time you turn up the thermostat, or get behind the wheel, or buy big-ag's processed food wrapped in plastic... then think about your values, think about what you can do differently.

[Unlissa5319]

Thanks Maria. That means a LOT, coming from you. I'm one of the chick singers in the video and also work at Ohio Citizen Action.

[mountainjustice]

Thanks for helping bring attention to the issue of mountaintop removal - from your friends at Mountain Justice. Hope to meet you all some day!

[thepinataproductions]

Thanks for sharing the experience with Piñata Productions.

Terrific song and visuals!

[Scottvfx]

There is a Planet B, but we'd never go there because it doesn't have any coal! (or oil)

[Michael Garrity]

Sure do wish that we could bring a final end to MTR before they destroy more of the mountains--now we have our own similar fish to fry with FRACKING coming to vast parts of Ohio---what is is with human beings?? Do we have some pathological need to do things that will only serve to undo ourselves??? Once human beings are gone--nature will be able to heal the earth--it is much older than we are and will be here long after our species has gone the way of so many other life forms on the planet.

[Michael Garrity]

Great song and great video--the show was great--kinda bummed the Southgate House is no more now.

[Neil Blanchard]

Mountaintop removal is ruinous to the earth we all depend on.

There is no Planet B.

Neil