The song tells the story of a little girl who asks her mother what her future will hold and whether she will be pretty or rich. Her mother responds with the phrase "Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be." As an adult, the girl falls in love and asks her sweetheart the same questions, receiving the same response. Now as a mother herself, her own children ask similar questions which she answers with the same phrase, passing on the lesson that the future is unknown and out of our control.