Yes We Can (Barack Obama Song)By: Will.i.am

Will.i.am BiographyWilliam 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-E’s 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 A&M/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 LyricsIt 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 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 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.

1. Declaration of Independence2. The Constitution3. The Bill of Rights4. Amendments to the Constitution (11-27)5. The Federalist Papers6. The Anti-Federalist Papers

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Slaves and AbolitionistsSlavery: a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of othersAbolitionist: 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 1800’s and continued through the 1840’s and World War

I. Immigration to the U.S. still continues today, but is highly regulated.

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Pioneers Pushing WestwardPioneer 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 didn’t like the new industries or developing cities, they simply wanted a

better life, and the land was cheaper.

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Women’s SuffrageWomen’s 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 wasn’t 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 MoonThe 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 America’s 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 isn’t 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 America’s 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 Obama’s 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.      <http://www.spacesouppatches.com/gallery/v/time_001/TIME/      Race+for+the+Moon.jpg.html>.

• The Nobel Foundation. "Martin Luther King Jr.: he Nobel Peace Prize 1964."      Nobel Foundaion. N.p., 2010. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://nobelprize.org/      nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html>.

• New World Encyclopedia. "Women's Suffrage." New World Encyclopedia. N.p., 2 Apr.      2008. Web. 1 June 2010. <http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/      Women's_suffrage>.

• 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.      <https://tuckahoe.wikispaces.com/      What+did+the+Confederacy+often+used+slave+as+%3Fnaval+crew+members+and+soldiers%3      F?f=print>.