Do you remember Blowin’ in the Wind? When Sam Cooke heard it, he was amazed that a young white man had written such a song about civil rights, and he decided to write one of his own.
Learn from Songs · Unit 4: The future · B1–B2
A Change Is Gonna Come
One of the greatest songs of hope ever written: going to and will for confident predictions, the present perfect continuous for a long struggle (I’ve been running, it’s been a long time), used to, and moving from past to present to future, with Philo, his cousin Tobias, and a gate that is closed to them.
SOPHIA
PHILO
And this is it?
SOPHIA
This is it. Slower, sadder, and more personal. But it ends with hope.
DEMETRIA
The future, then.
Before you listen: the song
Los Angeles, 1963–1964
Sam Cooke was one of the founders of soul music, with a voice of extraordinary sweetness. He started as a gospel singer in church, and became one of the biggest stars in America.
In October 1963, Cooke, his wife and his band were turned away from a hotel in Shreveport, Louisiana, that only accepted white guests. When he complained, they were arrested. That experience, and hearing “Blowin’ in the Wind”, led him to write this song.
In the song, the singer looks back on his life: he was born poor, and he has been on the move all his life. Life has been hard; he has been rejected and humiliated, even by people he asked for help. But he is sure that things are going to change.
Cooke recorded it in January 1964, and he believed it was the best song he had ever written. He died that December, at only thirty-three, before the song became an anthem of the civil rights movement. He never saw the change he sang about.
Hope for a better future.
Listen: past, present, future
PHILO
Listen once. Which parts are about his past? His present? His future?
SOPHIA
Then listen for gonna and will. Answer Section A.
🏛️ Listen to the song: “A Change Is Gonna Come” (Sam Cooke, 1964).Listen to the official recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “A Change Is Gonna Come”, Sam Cooke.Read the lyrics →
Going to and will: certainty about the future
DEMETRIA
A change is going to come. It will, I know it will.
SOPHIA
going to = a confident prediction (It’s going to rain: look at the clouds). will = a belief or promise about the future (It will get better). Short answer for emphasis: Oh yes, it will!
A long struggle: the present perfect continuous
MARCOS
I’ve been running since I was born. It’s been a long time.
SOPHIA
have / has been + -ing for an activity that started in the past and continues now: I’ve been waiting for an hour. They’ve been fighting for their rights for years. With for (a period) and since (a starting point).
Used to: how things were
PHILO
Things used to be like this. They won’t be for ever.
SOPHIA
used to + verb = a past situation or habit that is no longer true: Black and white Americans used to sit in different parts of the bus. Question: Did you use to…? Negative: didn’t use to.
Sophia’s comparison: the long road out of Egypt
PHILO
Our people know this song. We were slaves in Egypt for four hundred years, and Moses promised: you will be free. It took forty more years in the desert.
SOPHIA
And in the United States, Dr Martin Luther King told the crowd the night before he died that he had seen the promised land, even if he might not get there with them.
DEMETRIA
So the people who sing about the change don’t always see it. But they make it come.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| be going to + verb | a confident prediction | A change is going to come. |
| will / won’t | belief or promise about the future | It will come, I know it will. |
| have / has been + -ing | a long activity up to now | I’ve been running ever since. |
| used to + verb | a past situation, no longer true | Things used to be different. |
| for / since | period / starting point | for years, since I was born |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. Where does the singer say he was born?
2. What has his life been like?
3. What does he believe?
4. What happened to Sam Cooke in Shreveport?
5. Which song inspired him?
6. Did Cooke see the song become an anthem?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. A change is to come.
8. I’ve been since I was born. (run)
9. It’s a long time. (be)
10. Things to be different. (past)
11. We’ve been waiting three hours.
12. It will come. Oh yes, it !
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I’ve been waiting since three hours.”
14. “Things used to be very different.”
15. “A change is going come.”
16. “I know it will get better.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Changes. Talk about three things that used to be true in your country or family, how long people have been trying to change them, and what you think is going to happen.
Discuss. 1. Why do you think this song is still so powerful? 2. Can music help to change society? 3. Compare it with Blowin’ in the Wind: which do you prefer, and why?
Write (150–180 words). A change I hope to see. Describe a situation in the world: how it used to be, how long people have been working to change it, and what you believe is going to happen.
Now play the gamebook: Philo, his cousin Tobias, and the gate of the gymnasium.Play the gamebook →