Yes We Can (Barack Obama Song)

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Yes We Can (Barack Obama Song)

• By Will.i.am

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Will.i.am Biography

• William James Adams Jr. (Will.i.am) was born on
  March 15, 1975 in the Boyle Heights District of
  Los Angeles, California. William grew up in the
  Estrada Courts housing projects. When he was in
  the eighth grade, he met a boy named Alan Pinedo
  Lindo (apl.de.ap.). They became close friends due
  to their common interests in street dancing and
  singing and later joined a break-dancing team
  called Tribal Nation. After high school, they
  became infatuated with creating the music and
  formed a hip-hop duo named Atban Klann. Atban
  Klann was signed with Ruthless records (former
  NWA front person Easy-Es record label) in 1992.
  Unfortunately, the group was dropped from the
  record label in 1995 when Easy-E died of AIDs
  with their debut album never released. Deciding
  to start over, they formed the group the Black
  Eyed Peas with two new members, Jaime Gomez
  (Taboo) and Kim Hill. In July of 1997 the group
  signed with Interscope Records.

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Will.i.am Biography Continued

• The Black Eyed Peas first album Behind the
  Front was released in 1998, and a second album,
  Bridging the Gap, in 2000. Over the next couple
  years William continued to work outside of the
  group producing several songs. Their third album
  Elephunk featured Justin Timberlake and the debut
  of new singer Fergie, who replaced Kim Hill. With
  two songs going multiplatinum, and one song
  earning the group a Grammy. In spring of 2005 he
  had established his own record label, will.i.am
  music group, a joint venture with AM/Interscope.
  With a third Grammy for the song My Humps, the
  Black Eyed Peas continued on a track of success.
  Will.i.am released a hit single, I Got it From
  My Mama. He worked on production with people
  like Michael Jackson, Mariah Carrey, and Hilary
  Duff. On February 8, 2009, he received a Grammy
  for best urban/alternative performance for Be
  Ok along with Chrisette Michele. It is clear
  that Will.i.am has a true passion for music and
  producing.

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Yes We Can Lyrics

• 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...)

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Lyrics Continued

• 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...)

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Lyrics Continued

• 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...)

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Lyrics Continued

• 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
  LAwe 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 America's
  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, yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we
  can...)

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Founding Documents to the U.S.

• One of the most important events in history
  happened when the founding fathers of our country
  signed the Declaration of Independence. Following
  this document were several others that came to be
  known collectively as the founding documents of
  the United States.
• Declaration of Independence
• The Constitution
• The Bill of Rights
• Amendments to the Constitution (11-27)
• The Federalist Papers
• The Anti-Federalist Papers

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Slaves and Abolitionists

• Slavery a form of forced labor in which people
  are considered to be the property of others
• Abolitionist somebody who favors the abolition
  of slavery
• Slavery has been present in the world for
  centuries. Around the time of the American Civil
  War it was a big issue. Eventually slavery was
  outlawed by the Emancipation Proclamation signed
  by President Abraham Lincoln.

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Immigrants from the Distant Shores

• Around 1638 is when the first wave of European
  immigrants migrated to America from Sweden, soon
  followed by the Dutch. Migration of European
  immigrants greatly increased around the mid
  1800s and continued through the 1840s and World
  War I. Immigration to the U.S. still continues
  today, but is highly regulated.

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Pioneers Pushing Westward

• Pioneer settlers were settled in the East of
  America with a large amount of the West part of
  America that was undiscovered. The pioneers had
  many reason to move west to find better jobs,
  finding better land to farm, their current towns
  were being over crowded, they didnt like the new
  industries or developing cities, they simply
  wanted a better life, and the land was cheaper.

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Womens Suffrage

• Womens suffrage had been a struggle for many
  decades in America. Women were deprived of
  several rights that men obtained. The most common
  of rights, voting, brought the most attention to
  the country. It wasnt until August 26, 1920 that
  the 19th Amendment of the Constitution stated
  that all American women deserved the same rights
  and responsibilities of citizenship as men.

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Race to the Moon

• The Race to the Moon was when President Kennedy
  wanted the U.S. to be the first to walk on the
  moon. The race was between the U.S. and the
  Soviet Union due to the fact that they were
  enemies and currently in the Cold War.

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Martin Luther King Jr.

• By referencing to Martin Luther King Jr., this
  is an allusion. Martin is known world wide as a
  symbol for American Blacks. He led peaceful and
  successful protests for the rights of African
  Americans. He spoke to many and inspired
  millions. His most famous words, I have a
  dream, are commonly known to most.

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(yes we can, yes we can, yes we can, yes we
can...)

• This line in the song is showing repetition. It
  is the message that is being portrayed the most
  throughout the entire song. The artist emphasizes
  this and tries to get these words to stick in the
  mind of anyone who listens to it. The artist
  claims that he was not aboard the Obama campaign
  when he released this, but the words support
  Obama and what he is trying to convince the
  country with through his campaign.

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But in the unlikely story that is America, there
has never been anything false about hope

• What comes to mind when you read this line? This
  line proves to be the strongest and most
  influential of all. It supports everything Obama
  is trying to give off of his speech. Hearing a
  potential president say that with Americas
  history, hope has never been false. We have
  always had hope and whatever it was we went
  through we did it together.

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crumbling school in Dillon

• This line in the song is showing imagery. There
  isnt much imagery in throughout the song but
  here it is describing what the conditions are
  like for a girl in Dillon. He is saying that
  regardless of these conditions her dream for the
  country is like many others in different
  situations.

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and together, we will begin the next great
chapter in America's story

• This line is representing the theme of the song.
  It is saying that together, as a country, they
  will begin the next chapter of Americas story.
  The next chapter is referring to when Obama is
  president. It is a strong message that is
  supported with many allusions and references of
  events through history that brought the nation
  together. The theme also states the solution to
  the conflict stated in the song.

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we will remember that there is something
happening in America that we are not as divided
as our politics suggests

• With this line, the conflict is stated. It is
  saying that politicians and many others think
  that our nation is divided on several terms.
  Being that this is a line from Obamas speech,
  Obama states within the line that this is false.
  That we need to realize that we are one country
  regardless of the negative claims.

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Citations

• Space Soup Patches Gallery. "Race for the Moon
  1968." Space Soup Patches      Gallery. N.p., 10
  Feb. 2006. Web. 1 June 2010.      lthttp//www.spa
  cesouppatches.com/gallery/v/time_001/TIME/
       RacefortheMoon.jpg.htmlgt.
• The Nobel Foundation. "Martin Luther King Jr. he
  Nobel Peace Prize 1964."      Nobel Foundaion.
  N.p., 2010. Web. 1 June 2010. lthttp//nobelprize.o
  rg/      nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-b
  io.htmlgt.
• New World Encyclopedia. "Women's Suffrage." New
  World Encyclopedia. N.p., 2 Apr.      2008. Web.
  1 June 2010. lthttp//www.newworldencyclopedia.org/
  entry/      Women's_suffragegt.
• Kaitlyn, S. "What did the Confederacy often used
  slave as ?naval crew members      and soldiers?"
  Wikis For Teachers. N.p., 2010. Web. 1 June 2010.
       lthttps//tuckahoe.wikispaces.com/
       WhatdidtheConfederacyoftenusedslaveas
  3Fnavalcrewmembersandsoldiers3
       F?fprintgt.