Annabelle Dinda With Her Newest Poetic Single “The Hand”
Taking the algorithm by storm, the incredible singer-songwriter Annabelle Dinda posted her song “The Hand” to TikTok only towards the beginning of October and instantaneously reached millions. The song received high praise from artists like FINNEAS, Gigi Perez, Lizzy McAlpine and Dodie, and has continued to spread like a wildfire. You may be familiar with her from her previous handful of singles released this year, “Logging Field,” “Good Things,” and “Fictional States of Distress” but if not, there’s a very high chance you have crossed paths with “The Hand.” With heavy demand for its release, it’s bound to be on repeat for many.
The song struck a chord in different ways for different people; feeling seen, empowered, and even enlightened. It is lyrical mastery and can be interpreted in multitudes of ways, and that’s the beauty of it. The song begins with immediate tension in the pouncing of chords that sound like a mix of guitar and banjo. The momentum in the melody carries every word farther and more passionately than ever. The song dives into the perspective of being a woman vs man. How when a man creates, performs or accomplishes, it is profound and the ownership is undoubtedly theirs. They are seen as heroic, “Every time a guy writes a song / he's a sailor, a cowboy / Holding out the world in his palm like he made it himself”. In contrast, a woman’s accomplishment is something they can’t boast about or something that is immediately critiqued by themselves due to the societal norms of patriarchy. “Every time I open my mouth / I think, ‘Wow, what a loud noise’ / Still on the soapbox / Just hoping I seem underwhelmed” she sings, alluding to women constantly thinking of themselves as too much and are expected to suppress emotion.
With a drum kicking underneath and the same consistent chords throughout, the song is sung with so much urgency. She uses descriptive words so subtly, like referring to men with aggressive things like “A hand / a spike / a physical fight” but women more delicately, “The hand / the pen / the writing again / The wind around the willow.” She labels men as a first pioneer or sailor, all titles associated with success, but women as a girl or a siren, which has less depth or achievement to them. She references common things you may not think twice about to inexplicitly explain her feelings, like “The bottle in the ocean” referring to how unlikely it is to get a response when putting a message out in the ocean, just like how a woman doing something is less likely to get the response a man would.
A bridge builds up with a simple melody change but the same instrumentation behind it in a way that feels like each lyric is a cathartic release. She attacks excuses she already sees coming for what she previously said, like “This isn't rage, it's too specific / I like to hate symbolic limits” knowing perhaps an argument to dismiss her feelings, no matter how many people agree with her, would be that it’s “not all men”. She isn’t shying away, “This isn't rage / it's worth a mention.”
This song is a moment and will continue to find new meaning in the homes of people's minds and lived experiences. It is past and present and future. And it warrants every ounce of praise and reward. If this is your first taste of Annabelle Dinda, you can find plenty more genius from her wherever you stream your music and on all socials at @annabellesays.
