"A Change Is Gonna Come" - Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul (1966)
"A Change Is Gonna Come" Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke's final single before his early anf untimely death, "A Change Is Gonna Come" solidified his gospel roots with a heartbreaking ballad that foreshadowed Curtis Mayfield's social statements of civil rights and brotherhood. (It was obviously a perfect choice for Otis Redding to cover, as he had been a huge influence). Redding's version has a bit more buoyancy than Cooke's, while retaining the song's captivating emotional message.
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
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
BRIDGE:
And then I go to see my brother And I ask him to help me please And he just winds up knockin' me Back down on my knees
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, been a long time coming But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will