24 October 2007

Evan L.(60), Thomas G.(69), Andrew W.(21), Amanda M.(21), Joe H.(33), Ravi V.(33), Mai-ly T.(30), Kristen H.(31), Katelyn S.(31), Marquia J.(35)

24 comments:

Erin M. said...

Sam Cooke – “A Change is Gonna Come” (1965)

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 movie and I go downtown
somebody keep 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
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees

Ohhhhhhhhh.....

There been 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

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone!
My name is Amanda and I am a Spanish Major at Clemson. I really like the lyrics to this song “A Change is Gonna Come”. I immediately notice the repetition of the title throughout the song, making it clear that change is going to come or that change should have come a long time ago. In the first stanza, a simile is used show that the author of the lyrics is running just like a river. It seems like the author has been somewhat sheltered because he says he doesn’t know “what’s up there beyond the sky”. He must have only seen as far as the limits to where he lives. But, people warn him not to stay around and to bring on change. I don’t really understand when he talks about going to see his brother, obviously his brother hits him or beats him, which makes the author fall to the ground. He may not be referring to his real brother, but maybe someone in society who he thought was his friend. But, by the end of the lyrics, I got the feeling that the author has used all of his past experiences in order to embrace and accept a current change or a change that is predicted in the future. He thought at one time that he wouldn’t be able to last much longer but his ability to change could have helped him to carry on and survive.

Amanda Mitchell, English 103-21

Anonymous said...

Hello Group,
My name is Andrew W. and I am en engineering major at Clemson. This song is a powerful lyric full of war Rhetoric. I was most struck by how conflicted the writer of the song is in his life. He hates his life, but is scared to die. He tries to go downtown to enjoy himself, but has to turn and go home. He looks to a brother for help, and is only humiliated. The writer also speaks of change. He is clearly in a time of turmoil in his day to day living, but he alludes to something bigger. The entire world is in a time of turmoil. It is a time of war and many are dying in the battles everyday. Not only does he want a change in his life, but also he is waiting for the world to change. He wants resolution and peace both in his life and the lives of those at war.

Anonymous said...

Hello Group,
My name is Evan Leinbach, and I am an architecture major at Clemson University. At first glance, I thought that this song was about the mistreatment of soldiers after Vietnam, but after a closer look, it speaks to me more about the trials and victory of the Civil Rights Movement. The speaker seems to be an African American born to a poor family in a difficult situation "by the river in a little tent" and has spent his whole life trying to get away and make a better future. The speaker says living is hard, probably because he gets pushed around: he can't go into town without being told to leave, just as many black people were forced out of many privileges that whites had. However, despite these difficulties, there is a feeling of hope that "a change is gonna come, oh yes it will," and for once blacks will have equality in America.

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone!
My name is Maily and I am a nursing major at USC-Upstate. After reading and analyzing the lyrics, I believe that the author was a black man in the American society of the 1960's. The phrases "born by the river in a little tent" and "just like the river I've been running ever since" both indicate that he was never rich nor had the opportunities as others during his lifetime. In addition, the phrase "I know a change is gonna come" allows us to conclude that he is refering the the Civil Rights Movement that took place back in the 1960's. By using the word "brother," he is able to give the song a more vivid description about the abuse and humiliation that he received from the whites. By the end of the lyrics, he is very certain and hopeful that there will be a change and that he will finally be able to live a better life.

When_in_Rome said...

Hello Group,
I'm Kristen and I am undeclared at USC Upstate. I like the lyrics to this song. I think they show a lot of hope and passion in the singer. They make you feel for him and hope with him. With him going to see his brother, I'm not really sure what thats about, but maybe his brother isn't as hopeful as him. Maybe his brother doesn't believe change will ever come, so he didn't literally knock him down, but emotionally he did. At the end I believe he says he believes he can last through anything because he has survived through what he believes is the worst he could go through.
Kristen Hartman, English (31)

Anonymous said...

Hello Group,
My name is Ravi and I am an engineering major at Clemson, although I will probably go into genetics next semester. This song shows the overall tone most Americans took towards the war during the 60's. One of the first things I noticed about the lyrics to this song is that the title of the song is repeated in every set of lyrics. By repeating the title, "A Change is Gonna Come," he is saying at one point everything is going to change. Whether he speaks of the hippie culture or the war or hard times, he knows that change is imminent. Sam Cooke also recognizes that the change is a lengthy process that's "been a long, a long time coming." When he refers to his brother, the speaker might be alluding to someone or something, such as society, the government, or another person (not necessarily his brother). When he states someone tells him to quit hanging around, he's probably hinting at how hippies did not do anything productive and how the army tried to get men to do something with their lives by joining the army. At the end of the song, he realizes that changing alongwith the changes in the world around him have helped him survive when he once thought he would not be able to survive.

Ravi Vachhani, English 103-033

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone!

My name is Katelyn I am a psychology major at USC-UPSTATE, but I will be transferring to USC main-campus this spring and will be majoring in Fashion Merchandising. When I read the lyrics to "A Change is Gonna Come," I think it really puts an emphasis on how this character is feeling towards the war and his childhood. When he says, " 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," it seems like he feels lost at where he is at this point in time in his life, and has a lot of mixed emotions about what’s happening around him. He doesn’t seem to have a lot of support from his brother, so all he really has is himself, and he knows that so he commits to staying strong and bringing peace to the world around him.
Katelyn Spitzer, English (31).

Anonymous said...

Hey Group,
My name is Joe and I am a Engineering major art Clemson University. The first time I read the lyrics I had no clue what they were talking about, but when i read it a second time I relized he was talking about the civil rights ovement that was going on at the time. To me it sounded like he was upset that things were not changing as fast as they should but yet he still has hope for things in the future.

Joe Helms English 103-33

Anonymous said...

Hey Group!
It seems overall that everybody agrees that a major change is going to happen especially because of the repetition of the phrase. I also agree with the song's relation to the Civil Rights Movement, I think it fits perfectly into that event. In my first comment, I mentioned that I didn't really understand who the "brother" was or represented. But after reading peoples thoughts, I noticed how Ravi put his thoughts into who this person could be. He says it could be society, the government, and like I said, it may not necessarily be his real brother. I also agree with Evan when he says that despite the seemingly difficult times, there is still hope that change will come in the end. By reading everyone’s thoughts on the lyrics, I have a better understanding and feel of the poem because there are some things that I didn’t realize the poem might represent. Some of our opinions on the details are different, but for the most part we all seem to be on the same page.

Amanda Mitchell, English 103-21

Anonymous said...

Hello again,
As Amanda has already stated, it seems that we all agree that a major change is going to happen according to the lyrics of this song. Going along with what Katelyn said, the speaker reveals that he is afraid of what he does not know. Like many people who went to war and those that lived during this era, confusion was widespread. As we can tell, the hippie culture counteracted this confusion by isolating the government and institution as the sources of confusion. Seeing as how the movement for civil rights was occuring during the 60's, Joe brings up a valid point that the speaker might be concerned that movement is slow or unproductive. When the speaker refers to his brother striking him down, he might be referring to whites discriminating against the blacks.

Ravi Vachhani English 103-033

When_in_Rome said...

Hey group,

It's Kristen again. I agree with Ravi about how his brother could be someone other than his actual brother. I also agree with the face that this is either taking place during the civil rights movement because of the type of changes he is talking about. I agree with Amanda about the end of the song when he talks about carrying on, where she says that his past experiences help him with the changes that are coming and the things that are going on in the society.

Kristen Hartman, English (31)

Anonymous said...

Hi again,
I agree with Amanda she states that their is a repetition of the title throughout the song, making it clear that change is going to come or that change should have come a long time ago. I also agree with Amanda in that we stated the same thing when the character said he didn’t know "what’s up there beyond the sky.." as if he is lost at this point in his life or it seems like the author has been somewhat sheltered. I also agree with "when in Rome" in that this most likely took place during the Civil Rights Movement, because of the changes he is going through.

Katelyn Spitzer. English (31)

Anonymous said...

Hello Group,

I agree with Evan L. After reading this a second time, and reading Evan's comment its somewhat more clear to me that this song is more focused on civil rights than the war. It seems as though a black man could be the speaker, and that in a time of war the cause of civil rights is being overshadowed by the war. The speaker seems to hope not only for an end to war, but also for an end to inequality. He longs for equality among all people, and peace around the world and in his own home town.
Andrew W.

Anonymous said...

Hey Guys!
This is my third comment, just so everyone knows. I can definitely agree with Joe and Ravi’s point about possibly white people striking and going against black people considering how well this song fits into the time period. For my representation of the theme, I chose a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. because he was such an important symbol of the Civil Rights Movement and he worked to help people like those in the song who are not treated equally. The song has a sad feeling to it but an optimistic future that people fighting for civil rights were looking for. . http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2007/national-reporting/works/johnsonking.jpg
Amanda Mitchell, English 103-21

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone,
It's Katelyn again. Its really easy to tell that the lyrics of this song seem to have the same meaning to everyone, just in their own words. Like Ravi said, which I agree with, is when the speaker refers to his brother striking him down, he might be referring to whites discriminating against the blacks. And with agreeing with Evan L. after reading the lyrics more than once it starts to become apparent to you that the song is about civil rights, and the war and the confusion of it all. For my representation of the theme of the lyrics I chose a picture of soilders on a search-and-destroy patrol in south Vietnam. When you look at this picture you can only imagine how hard that must be involved in such a devastating war, and things at home not be much better for you, so your just stuck in this constant battle.

Vietnam War: U.S. soldiers in Phuoc Tuy

Katelyn Spitzer,English(31)

Anonymous said...

Hey Group,
Its Joe again and after reading the song again i really believe with Ravi and Evan. I feel the song is definitely about the civil rights movement in America. I did some research about Sam Cooke and he did a lot of protesting and had written another song about the civil rights movement. Actually this song came out after he died and it is sad that he was unable to see the effect that his song had.

Joe Helms English 103-33

Anonymous said...

Hello Group,
I stand by my initial interpretation that the song seems mostly on page with the Civil Rights movement, but I realize after reading other comments, like Ravi's, that it could be viewed from many perspectives. The auther could be refering to government, or war, or national tension. I also took special note after reading Amanda's comment that the repetition of the title throughout the lyric set the tone and conveyed the main idea.

Anonymous said...

Hey everyone,

After reading the lyrics and comments several times, I have a great respect for this song. It speaks not only of the specific problems during the Civil Rights Movement but also of the universal idea of positive change. As Andrew said, the song was written during and about a time of turmoil and change, and applies to the neverending progress of the human race towards a better world. I think we all can agree that the song is about change overcomint hardships. http://web.ncf.ca/ek867/marchon.washington.jpg
I chose this photo of the 1963 March on Washington because it demonstrates the collective power of people to create change in the world.

Anonymous said...

Hello Group,

After reading all of you comments I must say there are several strong interpretations of this lyric.I agree with Kristen about the doubt that the writer's brother seems to carry, and I see how Maily has a good idea of our writer's social status. The picture, that I have posted a link to below this post, shows a group fighting for civil rights and they seem to be of this lower class that Maily speaks of. After reading the different ways in which everyone has interpreted this song I believe it has an even stronger cry for change in America than the war abroad.

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civilrights/images/civilrights-homeimage-previ.jpg

Andrew W. Sec. 21

Anonymous said...

Hey group,
I am probably the last person to post, but someone has to be last. After reading everyone's comments, I think we can all agree that the song might be about civil rights.
The picture I chose to use in my description of the age weirdly depicts an image from the Vietnam war, not the civil rights movement. The soldier appears to be a young man who seems to be void of happiness to be extreme. It seems as though the young man has lost his sense of pride in what he is doing, or has lost his direction. This ties into the song with the fact that there was a sense of emptiness or being lost associated with those affected by the war. The speaker states that he is afraid of dying because he does not know what is beyond. Through this statement, he shows that, like many, he is afraid and against what he does not know. This would explain why many believed they should question the government and their involvement in Vietnam.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/do_history/decisions/images/vietnam_20soldier.jpg

Ravi Vachhani English 103-033

When_in_Rome said...

Hey guys,

Sorry I'm late, I didn't realize it was due over the weekend, but I figured better late than never. I definitely agree with everyones views on what this song is about seeing as we all basically have the same views. Everyone seems to believe it's placed in the Civil Rights Movement which seems very appropriate.

The image I chose was http://content.clearchannel.com/Photos/misc/civil_rights_MPI.jpg
because i believe it represents the change that they would like to come. Not only did they want to be treated better, but they wanted to live in peace with the rest of the Americans.

Kristen Hartman, English (31)

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone!
My name is Marquia Jones I am A Pre Law major at USC Upstate.
Well Sorry I’m late but like the person above me I say better late than never...I hope you agree.
I like Sam Cooke and have heard this song so I think it’s cool that we are doing this. I think that it is a big metaphor that reflects the mood of the time it was made. It’s from the mid 60's and this was a tumultuous time in the country. Taking into account that the author is black, It was also a time for reflection for African Americans that led to their strives to change. The first bit about being born by the river in a little tint. I think is saying that he came from humble beginnings i.e. the tent and has faced many struggles like those around him "the river". The next first to me says that though life is hard, it’s all he knows and, he fears death because he doesn’t know what it may hold for him. The next two parts about downtown and his brother to me are sating that he can’t find a place of solace he only finds rejection and his "brother" is no help to him either. I think the repeating of
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change going to come
Is self explanatory it’s been a rough journey and things should had been changed but he nose that a change is coming. Ageing I thin this is a reflection of the times and that with so much going on in this time their is nowhere else to go but up.

Anonymous said...

hey everyone, it's maily again. I'm sorry it is so late, I lost the sheet of paper and didn't understand that we had to comment on the same song again. After reading everyone's comments, it seems that this song can be viewed in several different ways with different interpretations. I still believe that the author is refering to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960's because of it's setting and description.