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.
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.
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 mountain-top
and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can
to justice and equality.

(Yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can…)

Yes we can
to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can
to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

(Si Se Puede)
(Yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, 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 want change! We want change! We want change…)

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

We want change!
(We want change! I want change! We want change! I want change…)

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.

(Yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can…)