Julie wants to get out of town
she needs to settle down
move to a place where no one knows her
lisa just had to get away
nothing could make her stay
tired of living under cover

everybody knows somebody trying to get free

be as white as you want to
be as black as you want to
be as brown as you want to
don't let anybody stop you

be as straight as you want to
be as gay as you want to
you can wait if you want to
we all need something to hold on to

and if there is a way that you and i could both be free
have a little understanding and we will be

daniel moved to another school
alliances can be cruel
when you're alone without nobody

michael begged jen to take a stand
and fight for the love they had
but she'd rather deal with being lonely

everybody's got somebody telling them what to be

chorus

and if there is a way that you and i could both be free
have a little understanding and we will be

na na na na na na...
and if there is a way that you and i could both be free
have a little understanding and we will be

chorus

be as shy as you want to
be as loud as you want to
be as small as you want to
don't let anybody stop you

be as thin as you want to
be as fat as you want to
be as short as you want to
we all need someone to hold on to