The stories behind West Virginia - Mountain Hands

• Mountain Hands: West Virginia's Tribute to Practical Skill — West Virginia - Mountain Hands honors biomedical technicians serving Appalachian communities with practical, patient care.

Lyrics

Up where the ridges fold blue beyond the county line

A porch light burns beside the road at closing time

Coal dust settled on the boots, hard years in every hand

Still we mend what life can break, still we help each other stand

From the creek bed to the clinic door

Every careful hand means something more

West Virginia, mountain hands, holding fast this promised land.

With a steady heart and a practice style, we keep hope breathing.

We keep hope alive.

Biomedical technicians,

faithful through the strain.

Testing, fixing, serving neighbors day by day.

West Virginia, let the high hills understand.

Love is work we do together with these mountain hands.

Before the kettle sinks,

the lab lights flicker on

A labeled tube, a calibrated screen, another night is gone

No trumpet calls the people who make the answers clear

But a family gets the word they need and courage gathers near

Every measure dropped, each quiet check

Can turn a trembling heart from fear to brie

West Virginia mountain hands holding fast this promised land

With a steady heart and a practice style

We keep hope breathing, we keep hope alive

Biomedical technicians,

faithful through the strain

Testing, fixing, serving neighbors day by day.

West Virginia, let the high hills understand, love is the work

we do together with these mountain hands.

The mines taught us patience, the rivers taught us grace, the old fiddle knows

a sorrow, then it finds a brighter place.

So pass the knowledge onward, let no good skill grow

Cold care is the coal we carry

Brighter than the gold

West Virginia mountain hands, strong as roots beneath the land

With a steady heart and a practice style, we keep hope breathing, we keep hope alive

Biomedical technicians serve in every town

When the road climbs steep, they never set it down

West Virginia, hear the whole valley sing

Practical hands can do extraordinary things

Mountain hands, neighbor hands

Working where the need still stands

West Virginia, we belong

Care has always been our song