[Ed. Note: This is the transcript for the performance in the above post.]
Watch the video here.
Instrumental intro…
Choir:
Ahhh…
Narrator:
“We are a people of improbable hope.” Writes President Barack Obama: “For at the core of the American experience are a set of ideals that continue to stir our collective consciences; a common set of values that bind us together despite our differences; a running thread of hope that makes our improbable experiment in democracy work. These values and ideals find expression not just in the marble slabs of monuments or in the recitation of history books. They remain alive in the hearts and minds of most Americans and can inspire us to pride, duty, and sacrifice. We’ve added family and the cross-generational obligations that family implies. We’ve added community; the neighborhood that expresses itself through raising the barn or coaching the soccer team. We value patriotism and the obligations of citizenship. A sense of duty and sacrifice on behalf of our Nation. We value a fate in something bigger than ourselves; whether that something expresses itself in formal religion or ethical precepts. And we add to the constellation of behaviors that express our mutual regard for one another honesty, fairness, humility, kindness, courtesy and compassion. These values are rooted in a basic optimism of our life and of faith and free will; a confidence that through pluck and sweat and smarts, each of us could rise above the circumstances of our birth. Those values are our inheritance, what makes us who we are as people. And they have proven to be surprisingly durable and surprisingly constant across classes and races and faiths and generations. We are a people of improbable hope.”
Instrumental continues…
Choir:
From the ashes of the fallen, the courageous deeds of heroes
From the voice of freedom calling, “Lead the way.”
From the ordinary people who embrace a common purpose
To unite a mighty nation to proclaim:
Chorus:
There is hope, bold as the crimson dawn of a bright new morn
There is hope, clear as the stars in the midnight sky
There is hope, springing forth from faith, every day reborn
With tomorrow in our eyes, there is hope
As the winds of change blow stronger and divisive currents threaten
Shadows deepen and grow longer, spreading fear
But the faithful are not shaken; linking hearts, we stand together
Never will our dream be taken; we vow that here
Chorus:
There is hope, bold as the crimson dawn of a bright new morn
There is hope, clear as the stars in the midnight sky
There is hope, springing forth from faith, every day reborn
With tomorrow in our eyes, there is hope
Narrator:
“The audacity of hope. That was the best of the American spirit, having the audacity to believe despite all the evidence to the contrary that we could restore a sense of community to a nation torn by conflict; the gall to believe that despite personal setbacks we had some control–and therefore responsibility– for over our own fate.”
Choir:
Like the eagle on the rise, who to the far horizon flies
Lofty and noble may our vision be.
There is hope…
Narrator:
“We have a stake in one another and what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart….”
Choir:
There is hope…
Narrator:
“…and that if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done.”
Choir:
There is hope, springing forth from faith, every day reborn
With tomorrow in our eyes, moving forward side by side
There is hope.
Narrator:
In the words of President Obama, “That’s what satisfies me now, I think – being useful to my family and the people who elected me, leaving behind a legacy that will make our children’s lives more hopeful than our own. Sometimes, working in Washington, I feel I am meeting that goal. At other times, it seems as if the goal recedes from me… When I find myself in such moods, I like to take a run along the Mall. Most of the time, I stop at the Washington Monument, but sometimes I push on across the street to the National World War II Memorial, then along the Reflecting Pool to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, then up the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial. At night, the great shrine is lit but often empty. Standing between marble columns, I read the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address. I look out over the Reflecting Pool, imagining the crowd stilled by Dr. King’s mighty cadence, and then beyond that, to the floodlit obelisk and shining Capitol dome. And in that place I think about America and those who built it. This nation’s founders, who somehow rose above petty ambitions and narrow calculations to imagine a nation unfurled across this continent and those like Lincoln and King who ultimately laid down their lives in the service of perfecting an imperfect union. Of all the faceless, nameless men and women; slaves and soldiers, [inaudible] and butchers; constructing lives for themselves and their children and grandchildren – brick by brick – rail by rail – calloused hand by calloused hand – to build a landscape of our collective dreams, it is a process I wish to be a part of. And so, we are choosing hope over fear. We are choosing unity over division. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit – to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that… with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
Choir:
Hope…rising…hope…climbing…hope…building…hope…flying
And a nation rejoices in song, for strong is hope
Where there’s hope, dreams are free to fly,
Where there’s hope, catch them as they pass by
Where there’s hope, easier to see, where there’s hope, what the future can be
Come with me, hope with me, dream with me, let this hope spread to every heart
Come with me, hope with me, dream with me
What binds us all together is greater than what drives us apart
Come with me, hope with me, dream with me, let this hope spread to every heart
Come with me, hope with me, dream with me
What binds us all together is greater than what drives us apart
Where there’s hope, dreams are free to fly,
Where there’s hope, catch them as they pass by
Where there’s hope, easier to see, where there’s hope, what the future can be
Hope is rising, hope is climbing, hope is building, hope is flying
Hope is dancing, hope is singing, hope is shouting, celebrating
Hope, rising like a tide, climbing like the sun, building as our dreams are flying
Hope, dancing on the clouds, singing to the sky, shouting with the joy of celebrating
Springing forth from faith, every day reborn
With tomorrow in our eyes, calling dreams to arise
There is hope, there is hope, there is hope!
Hope — Music and lyrics are by Gary Fry. 2010 Fry-by-Night Music [ASCAP]
Performed by Voices Rising, Chorale and Concert Orchestra
Recorded by Ed Ingold – February 21, 2010
Pick-Staiger Auditorium
Readings from: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream ~ Barack Obama, Author
President Barak Obama Inaugural Address
January 20, 2009