| "Hands Clean" | ||||
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| Single by Alanis Morissette | ||||
| from the album Under Rug Swept | ||||
| B-side | "Sister Blister" | |||
| Released | 8 January 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 2001 | |||
| Length |
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Alanis Morissette | |||
| Producer(s) | Alanis Morissette | |||
| Alanis Morissette singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Hands Clean" on YouTube | ||||
"Hands Clean" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, for her fifth studio album, Under Rug Swept (2002). It was written, composed, and produced by Morissette and released as the album's lead single in January 2002. It features a shuffling, largely acoustic-rock framework. Lyrically, "Hands Clean" caused controversy, since it is reportedly the singer's recollection of a forbidden sexual relationship she shared with a much older man when she was approximately 14 years of age.
The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, some of whom immediately chose the track as an album standout compared to some of her previous material. "Hands Clean" did well on the music charts, reaching number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It topped the charts in New Zealand and Canada, where it became her sixth and most recent number-one single. An accompanying music video was released in 2002 for the single.