A Change is Gonna Come

A Change is Gonna Come

United States

U.S. South

time: 20th century

Civil Rights Movement

This song can be used to introduce students to Civil Rights songs, many of which spoke to the movement's optimism. However, this song was unique in comparison to other songs such as "We Shall Overcome" for not being as optimistic. Like many other Civil Rights songs such as Mavis Staples' "We Shall Not Be Moved," it has strong ties to Christianity but there aren't explicit mentions of a particular place. Written in response to several events from the movement, it's since become synonymous with the movement. The song was released in early 1964, after a turbulent year in which Cooke and his entourage were turned away from a Lousiana hotel despite initially making reservations and after incidents such as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.

songwriter: Sam Cooke

1964

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English

genre: R&B

United States

Trigg, Christopher. "A Change Ain't Gonna Come: Sam Cooke and the Protest Song." University of Toronto Quarterly 79, no. 3 (2010): 991-1003. doi:10.1353/utq.2010.0240.

Sam Cooke

Sandy Trand

A Change is Gonna Come [Youtube]