Chicago soul duo Mel & Tim were cousins — Mel Hardin and Tim McPherson — wh… Read Full Bio ↴Chicago soul duo Mel & Tim were cousins — Mel Hardin and Tim McPherson — who actually hailed from Holly Springs, MS, and made their way to Chicago via St. Louis. They were discovered by Gene Chandler and signed to his Bamboo label in 1969, when they scored a Top Ten pop and R&B single with the good-humored classic "Backfield in Motion." The follow-up, "Good Guys Only Win in the Movies," supplied the title for their first album and hit the R&B Top 20 later that year. Mel & Tim subsequently moved to Stax, where they landed a second Top Five R&B smash with the ballad "Starting All Over Again" (also the title track of their second album). Mel & Tim performed at the late-1972 charity concert Wattstax and were featured in the documentary film of the same name, singing "I May Not Be What You Want." Their self-titled final album appeared in 1973, after which the cousins faded away from the music scene.

Yes We Can-Can
Mel & Tim Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now's the time for all good men
to get together with one another.
We got to iron out our problems
and iron out our quarrels
and try to live as brothers.
And try to find a piece of land
without stepping on one another.
And do respect the women of the world.

Remember you all have mothers.
We got to make this land a better land
than the world in which we live.
And we got to help each man be a better man
with the kindness that we give.
I know we can make it.
I know darn well we can work it out.
Oh yes we can, I know we can can
Yes we can can, why can't we?
If we wanna get together we can work it out.

And we gotta take care of all the children,
the little children of the world.
'cause they're our strongest hope for the future,
the little bitty boys and girls.

We got to make this land a better land
than the world in which we live.
And we got to help each man be a better man
with the kindness that we give.
I know we can make it.
I know darn well we can work it out.
Oh yes we can, I know we can can

yes we can can, why can't we?
If we wanna, yes we can can.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Mel & Tim's song "Yes We Can-Can" are a call for unity and brotherhood. The opening lines implore "all good men" to come together and "iron out our problems and quarrels" in order to "try to live as brothers." The song emphasizes the need to find "a piece of land without stepping on one another" and to respect and honor women, reminding us that we all have mothers. The next verse speaks to the importance of taking care of the children of the world, emphasizing that they are our "strongest hope for the future."

Line by Line Meaning

Now's the time for all good men
It's time for all good men to take action

to get together with one another.
They need to come together as a group

We got to iron out our problems
They need to solve their issues

and iron out our quarrels
They need to cease their conflicts

and try to live as brothers.
They need to live in harmony with each other

And try to find a piece of land
They need to find a place to reside

without stepping on one another.
Without harming each other

And do respect the women of the world.
They need to show respect towards women

Remember you all have mothers.
They should remember the women who gave birth to them

We got to make this land a better land
They need to improve their society

than the world in which we live.
Their society should be better than the rest of the world