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It was a creed written into the founding documents |
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That declared the destiny of a nation, yes we can |
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It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists |
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As they blazed a trail toward freedom, yes we can |
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It was sung by immigrants as they struck out |
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From distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward |
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Against an unforgiving wilderness, yes we can |
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It was the call of workers who organized |
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Women who reached for the ballots |
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A President who chose the moon as our new frontier |
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And a King who took us to the mountaintop |
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And pointed the way to the Promised Land |
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Yes we can to justice and equality |
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Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity |
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Yes we can heal this nation |
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Yes we can repair this world |
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Yes we can |
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We know the battle ahead will be long |
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But always remember that no matter |
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What obstacles stand in our way |
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Nothing can stand in the way of the power |
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Of millions of voices calling for change |
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(We want change) |
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We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics |
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They will only grow louder and more dissonant |
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We've been asked to pause for a reality check |
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We've been warned against offering |
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The people of this nation false hope |
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But in the unlikely story that is America |
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There has never been anything false about hope |
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Now the hopes of the little girl who goes |
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To a crumbling school in Dillon are the same |
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As the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA |
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We will remember that there is something happening in America |
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That we are not as divided as our politics suggests |
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That we are one people, we are one nation |
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And together, we will begin the next great chapter |
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In the American story with three words that will ring |
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From coast to coast, from sea to shining sea, yes we can |
