I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I've been running ever since...

It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die
'Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky

It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movies and I go downtown
And somebody telling me, "Don't hang around"

It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother and I say, "Brother, help me please."
And he winds up, knocking me back down on my knees

Lord, there were 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

That's a little Sam Cooke for you. Barack Obama paraphrased that song during his acceptance speech last night. There's really nothing I could add to the punditry about Barack, but I'd thought I'd say a little something about this song since I've been reading about Sam for quite some time. "A Change Is Gonna Come" was Sam's masterpiece, one of the last songs he recorded before he died. He was inspired by Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind" and "These Times Are a-Changing" and realized that he should be doing something as powerful and meaningful as those songs. At the time Sam was already breaking new ground. He owned and published his own music, which was extraordinary for a black man in those days, and his cross-over appeal and sales records was unparalleled at the time. But despite all of this, despite the fact that he built an empire, he'd still look around and see that he was treating as less than human. He recorded "A Change Is Gonna Come." Bobby Womack was one of the first people to hear it and he told Sam, "It sounds like death."

Sam Cooke died a year later. The song was released post-humorously, first as a single and then on Sam's final album, Ain't That Good News. Sam never saw the song released and never saw the impact; the song became the soundtrack to the Civil Rights movement.

It's only fitting that President-elect Obama quoted from it last night. It has been a a long time coming, and the past 8 years sometimes made it feel like there was no end in sight, but out of nowhere we have Change. And Change is good.

Finally, I'd like to end this with two pages from my upcoming Sam Cooke graphic novel. I'm cowriting the book with Chris Stevens (he actually wrote this scene) and it's being illustrated by Nate Powell. I really think this scene fits the feel of this election season particularly well. It's about breaking outside of your confines and making your own opportunities. Going against the status quo. Being a Sam Cooke, or a Barack Obama:

Labels: comics, music, politics, sam_cooke

From upcoming Sam Cooke graphic novel written by Jason Rodriguez and Chris Stevens, art by Nate Powell

Labels: news, sam_cooke

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