Lush, symphonic strings weep as the orchestra swells and Sam Cooke laments the indignations of the past and hopes for a better future.

“A Change Is Gonna Come” was inspired by various events in Sam’s life, most prominently when he and his entourage were turned away from a whites-only motel in Louisiana. He turned away from ballads like “You Send Me” and lighthearted uptempo tunes like “Twistin’ The Night Away” to write a song that spoke to his struggle and of those around him.

Recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood on January 30, 1964. It was produced by Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, and arranged and conducted by René Hall. It was the opening track of Sam’s final album “Ain’t That Good News”.

Each verse is a different movement, with the strings carrying the first, the horns the second, and the timpani carrying the bridge. The French horn touches a sense of melancholy, the gospel refrain soars higher and higher.

It’s been a long.

A long time coming.

But I know a change gonna come.

Oh, yes it will.