Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" appeals to the emotions of any listener going through a period of hardships. Being that the song was written in 1963, it has been related to the Civil Rights movement, but Cooke never specifically mentions the time period. The motivation of the song is to remind the listener to keep on keeping on, by instilling hope and reassuring this feeling. The line
"But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will" does just that. It first proposes a positive view of the future and guarantees its coming. Not only does Cooke just tell the listener these things, he expresses his own hardships and how he continues to look forward to the coming change. In the last verse, he writes, "There were times when I thought I couldn't last for long/ But now I think I'm able to carry on." This brings sympathy to the listener, yet still enforces the theme of hope and attaining ultimate triumph. Cooke encourages the listener to do as he did. In this case, blacks were able to apply this message to their struggles within their communities and look forward to fighting for equality and unlimited freedom under the law.
Some hardships during 1960s:
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| Bad Seating |
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| Exclusion |
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| Segregated Schools |
You are definitely right, even though the time period is never really specified one can see how it goes hand in hand with the civil rights movement.
ReplyDeleteWell said! I like how you incorporated lyrics from the song in your analysis. This makes it very clear to the reader. I think it was great how you acknowledged that this song not only brings sympathy towards the listener, but also enforces the theme of hope.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you address that the author put a positive spin on the civil rights movement saying he knows a change is going to come. Although this was a time of hardship it was also a time of hope and I like that this song noticed that.
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