What George Michael song's lyrics begin with, "These are the days of the open hand"?

The George Michael song whose lyrics begin with "These are the days of the open hand" is "Praying for Time." George Michael wrote, produced and performed the song, which was released in 1990.

"Praying for Time" was the first single from Michael's second solo studio album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. Its dark, reflective lyrics address inequality, social suffering, moral uncertainty and the difficulty of maintaining hope. The song marked a more serious and politically engaged direction after Michael's enormous pop success with Wham! and his debut solo album, Faith.

The lyric is sometimes misremembered as "the empty hand." That phrase appears later in the song, in the line "These are the days of the empty hand," while the opening wording is "These are the days of the open hand." The distinction matters because both phrases occur in the same verse.

The single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week, becoming Michael's seventh US number-one single and his last solo song to reach the top of that chart. Its unusual music video displayed animated lyrics rather than featuring Michael.