Yes We Can

It was a creed written into the founding documents

That declared the destiny of a nation, yes we can

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists

As they blazed a trail toward freedom, yes we can

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out

From distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward

Against an unforgiving wilderness, yes we can

It was the call of workers who organized

Women who reached for the ballots

A President who chose the moon as our new frontier

And a King who took us to the mountaintop

And pointed the way to the Promised Land

Yes we can to justice and equality

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity

Yes we can heal this nation

Yes we can repair this world

Yes we can

We know the battle ahead will be long

But always remember that no matter

What obstacles stand in our way

Nothing can stand in the way of the power

Of millions of voices calling for change

(We want change)

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics

They will only grow louder and more dissonant

We've been asked to pause for a reality check

We've been warned against offering

The people of this nation false hope

But in the unlikely story that is America

There has never been anything false about hope

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes

To a crumbling school in Dillon are the same

As the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA

We will remember that there is something happening in America

That we are not as divided as our politics suggests

That we are one people, we are one nation

And together, we will begin the next great chapter

In the American story with three words that will ring

From coast to coast, from sea to shining sea, yes we can