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