Stand with me and look through history,
see the workers organize,
and fight brave revolutions,
and win their new sunrise,
then watch their new-formed governments,
corrupt and strip their rights,
and watch it all repeat again,
or hear the forest sigh:
"when will you cease to fight for wages,
and start fighting for our lives?

whenever you're ready,
I will be here waiting,
whenever you're ready,
a wheneva-whenever you're
whenever you're ready!"

So we left civilization,
to find nature's purity,
we dropped out of college, quit our jobs,
and climbed the mountain peaks,
but when we tried to join the mountain goats,
they circled their young ones up the slope sayin:
"why would we circle with you -
who won't even circle with your own?
don't you know your heard and you are
inseparable, no matter how far from them you go?"
And they said:

whenever you're ready,
we will be here waiting,
whenever you're ready,
oye gente, canten conmigo
whenever you're ready!"

How can I want your revolution -
another car your thugs can steal?
I don't wanna take your backseat,
shotgun, or the wheel!
I don't need your god or leader
or their permission to be free!
I don't need your stenciled hero,
or your statue of liberty!
I wanna howl in the canyon,
feel it howl out of me,
with the liberty of a little child..

We are decentralized revolution,
we can touch and breathe our goals,
we claim the flamboyant rainbowed sky
as our own national soul,
and every tree's our country's flag,
air - water - earth - we give rights to 'em,
so you can open your stores, and throw your wars,
my people won't shop or fight for ya,
you can read our advertisements,
we'll leave 'em burning in the night for ya,
standing circled with the wild,
my people:

Whenever you're ready
we will be here waiting
whenever you're ready
oye mama yeah!
whenever you're ready

I hear - I hear the people hummin,' I feel - feel a change a-comin up I'm ready
(whenever you're ready)
all across the country now, hear the people speakin' up out loud, hear the people singin' out sing it!
(whenever you're ready)
we're on our way! we're on our way! we're on our way!
(whenever you're ready)
yeah - ready! we're goin' on, it won't be long!
(whenever you're ready)

whup comin whup comin!
singing "whenever you're ready"
shake your peace! get whup!
(shake your peace, shake your peace, shake your peace)
don' matter how low you feel now!
get moving! we're on the train they can't stop now!
(whenever you're ready)
I can't help it! I can't hold me back!
come on band help me out, 'bout to put some whup on it!

(whenever you're ready)
ready! ya ready?
(whenever you're ready)
you're ready!
(whenever you're...)
I will be there!
(whenever, whenever you're...)
whenever you're ready!