Zac's AP US History: A Change Is Gonna Come

Thursday, July 15, 2010

A Change Is Gonna Come

This song was originally written in 1963 by Sam Cooke. It talks about the hardships faced by African Americans during the Civil Rights' Era. The songwriter offers a historic perspective on the events. The singer of the one on the CD (Seal) does not. This song includes an event from the life of Sam Cooke. The line "I go to the movie and I go downtown, Somebody keep telling me don't hang around" is something that happened to him. He was arrested for "disturbing the peace" for trying to go to an "all whites" motel (pretty dumb...) I think it is a pretty good song. I think Seal's version is a good tribute to Sam Cooke's version. It is extremely similar, I think it captures that vibe and persona that comes from Sam Cooke's 60's version. It allows us to learn of the hardships faced by African Americans during this time period. This is especially true of the parts that talk of being told to leave the movies and of being beaten.

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What Pre Said

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

“Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”

“You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.”

“A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.”

“Life’s battles don't always go to the strongest or fastest man, But sooner or later the man who wins is the fellow who thinks he can.”

“Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.”

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

“If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

"A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding."

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I loose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."