I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like that river I’ve been running ever since
It’s been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will
Released in 1964, but the change Sam Cooke sung for is still in non-existence.
With the word, Racism,
Not losing any of its sting.
The only difference from then to now,
Is that, people see shades of the darkness of the skin.
But it all still leads to the same hatred from within,
No place is safe so with the River I run,
Places where Ice Tea and Skittles,
Justify the shot of a gun.
The Revolution will not be televised.
My people, the revolution must be live.
Sad to say but its between, life and death.
Either remaining silent or spitting out your words til you’re out of breath.
It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die
Cos I don’t know what’s out there beyond the sky
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will
Helpless, hopeless, no where to turn,
Drop down to my knees and pray to the higher Being up above.
But as I look up to the sky,
The clouds float by, childhood happiness fills the air.
Then I look down and break to reality,
Where brutality,
Becomes the normality.
When is the change gonna come?
A world where violence, drugs, and hard times don’t exist,
When is it gonna come?
The return of human morality is long overdue.
I go to the movie
And I go down town
somebody keep telling me don’t hang around
Its been along time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will
The price of a movie ticket, about $9.50.
But the only price tag,
On the bodies in the body bags,
Are the little name tags,
That the mortician stuck on their toes.
Aurora, a name that meant nothing to me,
Became the thorn in my side,
Mad to see that an American pastime, turned upside,
Down. But the what the heck do you expect?
A country where people have no respect,
Human life is like that of an insect.
It crawls along the arm,
One sensation of feeling and you cause that bug harm.
Life, is gone.
Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knockin’ me
Back down on my knees
You win your nation a gold medal,
And aint it some shit that they can only think about your hair.
The momentum accelerator hits it’s the brake pedal,
Your inner thoughts become meddle.
What’s hair got to do with one’s physical ability?
A moment where support is needed,
In true American fashion,
Turns to a moment of
Unnecessary, irrelevant controversy.
Its time to be set free,
From the social constraints of what you should be.
The American Dream, doesn’t exist in this society.
There were times when 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 gone come, oh yes it will
