A relationship number even heavier than the ultimate angsty revenge song of the ’90s, “You Oughta Know?” Unfortunately, yes. Let’s re-examine the deeper missed meaning of Alanis Morissette‘s “Hands Clean.”
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A Solitary Pursuit
When Alanis Morissette released her fifth album, Under Rug Swept, in 2002, she was entering new territory. She had come off two chart-topping ‘90s releases, Jagged Little Pill and Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, that had made her an international superstar. The former album had sold 16 million copies in America, the latter 3 million, and globally they had doubled their tallies. Both albums were produced by and co-written with hitmaker Glen Ballard. Ballard had initially been a mentor in transitioning Morissette’s career from the pop sounds of her first two Canadian albums into the edgier alternative sounds that led to her breakthrough. She’d also gotten into a business dispute with her label, Maverick Records, which eventually got resolved.
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Under Rug Swept was the first album where Morissette would write everything herself, and it was her most mature set of recordings to date. They ranged from the harder rocking “21 Things I Want in a Lover” to the gentle ballad “That Particular Time” to the mid-tempo dreaminess of “I Owe You Nothing in Return.”
(Even) Darker Days
The album’s ethereal lead single, “Hands Clean,” was a melancholic song about being haunted by a past relationship where the person had abandoned their responsibility in what happened between them. But whereas the angry “You Oughta Know,” the adrenaline-charged number that had launched her career, dealt with a similar topic, “Hands Clean” dealt with something more serious. The music did not have the same bite, but what Morissette was singing about was darker.
Ooh, this could be messy but
But you don’t seem to mind and
Ooh, don’t go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crime
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
“A Pretty Harrowing Song to Write”
Many critics understood what the song was basically about, while Jon Pareles, in writing for Rolling Stone, gleaned the subtext beneath the surface. But let’s the singer herself explain it.
In November 2020, Morrisette told Bustle that the song “was about being statutorily, sexually raped as a child, but the video was hilariously interpreted and at one point I actually turned to the record company people and said, ‘Have you heard the lyrics to this song? Are you sure this is the video you want to make?’ ‘Hands Clean’ was a pretty harrowing song to write—it’s basically a dialogue between me and this person who was in this position of power throughout my teen years and taking advantage of it. It was sort of before #MeToo, and I think a lot of people missed the story. People enjoyed ‘Hands Clean,’ but there was no followup on what the song was about. There was still a huge stigma around sexual abuse and coming out and speaking about it publicly.”
The song certainly struck emotional chords that could ripple beyond the specific context from which Morissette was writing, which gave it a universal appeal. As she has stated, she writes songs to indulge herself as an artist, but once they are set free into the world they are no longer their own. Interpretations can vary.
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Flattering Falsities
When Morissette appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer revealed an odd fan misunderstanding. “Someone came up to me and they said, ‘I love that story you tell about where you’re in love with your lesbian teacher. And that song is so beautiful. The dedication to her is so amazing.’ And I just thought, ‘Which teacher was that?’” Morissette was not bothered by the misinterpretation, though. She is charmed by what fans bring into her work.
Part of why the song might not have received much in-depth analysis is that even the video doesn’t overly explore the topic. But it hints at it. It was shot through a tube television set as a way to invoke the idea of a memory movie. An older man (Chris Sarandon) enters a sushi bar where a young lady (Morissette) is eating. They are never framed in the same shot, and it is obvious they recognize each other. Then we get a flashback to when he began an illicit romance with her just as her career was blossoming. It’s clearly kept quiet. We go through a fictionalized narrative of her rise to fame. We see fans performing her song in a karaoke bar. And then he has faded out of her life.
In appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2023, Morissette recalled, “When I first wrote it, I remember the record company having said, ‘Let’s do this video where it’s a karaoke and there’s kids…’ And I asked them, ‘Have you heard the song?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, it’s great.’ I was like, ‘Okay, so you haven’t heard the song.’ It just felt like this incongruent kind of thing, but it actually was a lovely way to present a song that otherwise might not have even been listened to.”
Getting Over the Grudge
Sometime in the mid-2000s, Morissette told Q magazine that “Hands Clean” allowed her to get over a grudge against herself. She was upset she’d covered for an adult man who took advantage of a young girl. It was not so much meant to be directed at their actual involvement. She just needed to come to terms with her own past. And as Carly Simon did with “You’re So Vain” (for the most part), Morissette has not said who the song is about. (Although Full House co-star Dave Coulier has admitted that “You Oughta Know” was about him. The singer has never confirmed this, but the two did date in the early ‘90s.)
As of this writing, “Hands Clean” sits among the top 10 most streamed Morissette tracks on Spotify. The video has 30 million views on YouTube, as well. The meaning might not have been obvious to everyone at the time. But women stepping forward to expose sexual exploitation more and more has made “Hands Clean” as topical as ever. On top of the fact that it’s a damn good song.
Photo by Rob Ball/WireImage
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