I was inspired tonight during my late shift when one of my very favorite pop songs came to mind out of the blue. The song is well-known, which is not normally a characteristic of the music I listen to, but it means as muich to me as it does to anyone, regardless of race. We all have to share this world with one another, and because of that discrimination affects every one of us at some point.
I remember my eyes welling up with tears driving to school one day in the midst of hopeless winter, as bereft of hope and bankrupted out of any idealism I once held. I was 20, and my future had already been sold down the river because we in this country keep voting rich folks into office who don't care about us. Either that or the election was stolen, and in this case I think the both are true. The song can transcend racial boundaries, and I think everyone was feeling betrayed and even discriminated against (based on the class warfare that has defined the last eight years). The song means a lot to me on the basis of both its original meaning and because of the antiquated corruption it outlines in its lyrics, of which virtually all people can relate.
Some of the most heartfelt lyrics of the 20th century. A change has come, Sam.
I was born by a river;
In a little tent;
Oh, and just like the river I been runnin' ever since;
It's been a long, a long time comin' but I know;
A change gonna come, Oh yes it will
It's been too hard livin', but I'm afraid to die,
Cause I don't know what's up there, beyond the sky;
It's been a long, oh a long time comin' but I know
A change gonna come, oh yes it will
I go to a movie, and I go downtown,
Somebody keep telling me, "Don't hang around"
It's been a long, a long time comin', but I know
A change gonna come, oh yes it will
Then I go to my brother;
And I say "brother won't you help me please;"
But he winds up, knockin' me;
Back down on my knees
Oh;
There are times that I thought, I couldn't last for long;
But now I think I'm able to carry on;
It's been a long, a long time coming;
But I know, a change gonna come, oh yes it will
Copyright: ABKCO Music
Performed by Sam Cooke
A change has come, world.
Vocalize your feelings if these lyrics mean as much to you as they do to me.
