On a cold and windy night
With the water ragin' higher
By the moon's shinin' light
Suddenly a man stepped forward
And he looked at all around
He said, "We all must cross this river
We all stand on common ground"

Though I was standin' amongst strangers
I did not know their names
I realized they were with me
And our journey was the same
As he spoke out loud, I looked around me
I could see they knew it, too
We would cross or die together
No one man could make it through

There was shelter across the river
Across the water deep and black
As a storm moved in behind us,
There was no way to turn back
So I stepped right up beside him
And took one last look around
That before my eyes I realized,
We all stand on common ground
We all stand on common ground

So many years have come and gone
Since we crossed that river wide
When I look back on that night
It still moves me so inside
This world today is like that river
Its water cold and black
We all must cross together,
For there is no turnin' back

For the mountain high or a city street,
It's the same old world below our feet
It's time to wake up, people, and take a look around
We all stand on common ground
It's time for every woman and every man
And hold the future in our hands
Wake up and look around,
We all stand on common ground
We all stand on common ground