"A change is gonna come"
Performed by Sam Cooke
Performed by Sam Cooke
This song is a political call-out in many ways. He is saying that a change is going to come in regards to segregation. Out of curiosity I googled the meaning behind the song. Cooke and others who he was with "were turned away from a whites-only motel in Louisiana." This information gives a deeper understanding of the repeated line "It's been a long time coming, a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come." With recent historical events, I would say that change is still long time coming and a change is gonna come.
This song makes me think that Sam Cooke was expressing that he wanted to find the good somewhere. Yet, everywhere he looked he wasn't finding anything. He looked towards a new life, but he didn't know what was there. He went to a movie and was turned away. He looked towards his brother, and he knocked him down. The thought of things changing in the world had to bring some hope for him.
I love the smoothness that Sam Cooke's voice adds to this song. His emotion is raw, and it really adds to the meaning of the lyrics. The instruments that are used complement his voice so well!
Hey Dakota, I appreciated your thoughts about this song. I agree that Sam Cooke's voice was complimented perfectly by the instrumentation in the composition. I recently watched "One Night In Miami" and although the plot is fictionalized, the additional background on this song is true! Sam Cooke was inspired by Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" another song option in this week's choices. I recommend One Night in Miami because Leslie Odom Jr's performance and voice does perfect justice to Sam Cooke's song.
ReplyDeleteI did the same song actually, and I wanted to say for sure that it was talking about the civil rights movement, but I wasn't sure, so thank you for clarifying that. We did share a lot of the same thoughts on the song. It's a really good song that I really enjoyed. Good job on the post!
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ReplyDeleteThere were some really deep thoughts about this song, and I loved them! It was an interesting point that you brought up about how the world still needs so much changing before it can meet the expectations of Cooke's song. I also really liked how you brought up how he was trying to look for the good in the world, but only kept finding the bad. I really enjoyed your post, thanks!
DeleteHi Dakota! I'm so glad you did this song because I hadn't heard it before and it's beautiful! It's deep, relevant to its time and the hardships they fought and continue to fight, and Cooke has the perfect voice to sing a song like this. Thank you for going over the history and searching for the meaning behind this song so that we can all be educated. Great song and post!
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