A Change Is Gonna Come | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| Bb6 F6/A | Gm F6/C Dm7 |
| Eb Bbsus4/D Cm7 Eb/Bb | C7sus4 F7 F7sus4 | F7 |
Verse 1
| Bb | Bb | Cm | Gm |
I was born by the river, in a little tent, oh and just like that river I’ve been running ever since.
| Bb | Cm Eb D7 | Gm | Bb |
It’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will.
Verse 2
It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die, I don’t know what’s out there, beyond the sky.
It’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will.
Verse 3
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 is gonna come, oh yes it will.
Middle 8
| Cm | Gm | Cm | Gm |
Then I go to my brother, and I say brother help me, please.
| Cm | Gm Bb | C7 | F7 |
But he winds up knockin’ me, back down on my knees.
Verse 4
Oh, there’ve been times when 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 is gonna come, oh yes it will.
A Change Is Gonna Come | Chords + Lyrics (capo 2)
Intro
| G6 D6/F# | Em D6/A Bm7 |
| C Gsus4/B Am7 C/G | A7sus4 D7 D7sus4 | D7 |
Verse 1
| G | G | Am | Em |
I was born by the river, in a little tent, oh and just like that river I’ve been running ever since.
| G | Am C B7 | Em | G |
It’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will.
Verse 2
It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die, I don’t know what’s out there, beyond the sky.
It’s been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will.
Verse 3
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 is gonna come, oh yes it will.
Middle 8
| Am | Em | Am | Em |
Then I go to my brother, and I say brother help me, please.
| Am | Em G | A7 | D7 |
But he winds up knockin’ me, back down on my knees.
Verse 4
Oh, there’ve been times when 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 is gonna come, oh yes it will.
A Change Is Gonna Come Chords: Learn the Verse, Chorus, and Middle 8 Progressions
It would also make sense to avoid calling the intro progression by their Roman numerals; it’s too complex!
Members get TAB, first outlining the melody, then harmonising that melody. Once you can play it and understand it, reading the chords will be enough of a reminder (see the chord chart below).
Unlike the intro, for the verse/chorus and the middle 8, using Roman numerals is essential.
Here’s the verse progression in the key of G (capo fret 2 if you play with me, 3 if with the original recording):
| G (I) | G (I) | Am (II) | Em (VI) |
| G (I) | Am (II) C (IV) B7 (IIIx) | Em (VI) | G (I) |
Only the B7 is not diatonic; that IIIx chord is the most common variation as it pulls more strongly to the Em than a Bm chord would.
The middle 8 has another chord outside the key of G; the A7 is the IIx chord, also known as the dominant’s dominant as it “pulls more” towards D7 than an Am would.
||: Am (II) | Em (VI) :||
| Am | Em G (I) | A7 (IIx) | D7 (V) |
A Change Is Gonna Come Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
As mentioned, that intro only makes sense if you’ve been through the process of learning the melody and harmonising it.
For the rest of the tune, a chord chart is ideal, maybe even better than reading it using chords and lyrics.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: A Change Is Gonna Come chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro; here’s a link to that file: A Change Is Gonna Come chord chart iRealPro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key, which is a good idea as the original is in the key of Bb!
In the course, we look at TAB and play along to loops to learn A Change Is Gonna Come in more depth; below is a preview.
A Change Is Gonna Come TAB | Course Preview
The play-along TAB loop you see above is a sample of how you’ll learn to play A Change Is Gonna Come as a member.
Try it now to get a taste of what the course is like.
Here are the chords and TAB as an image; pay special attention to how it is broken up between bass notes and chord strums.
In the full course lesson, we next look at another way to play this verse.
Over the next steps (8 in total), we keep investigating how to play A Change Is Gonna Come’s remaining sections. That’s the middle 8 and intro.
We also look at playing the minor pentatonic, the major pentatonic, as well as the vocal melody, which isn’t easy!
In step 7 we learn a 2nd guitar part in the key of A, played without a capo. Learn this so you, me, and the singer can play this classic tune together, like a trio.
Here’s a link to the 8 step-by-step guitar lessons: A Change Is Gonna Come – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
A Change Is Gonna Come is a response to Blowin’ In The Wind!
A Change Is Gonna Come is a single by Sam Cooke. The song has a very complicated history. Initially written as a response to Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind, Sam wanted to write a song as powerful as Dylan’s.
The song would come to be used as an anthem for the civil rights movement during the mid to late ‘60s. Similarly in 2008, it was used in President Barack Obama’s election campaign.
Led by keywords such as “Change” and “Yes We Can”, A Change Is Gonna Come came to back one of the most important historical events in modern history; the election of a black American president.
Unfortunately, Sam Cooke never got to enjoy the success as he died under mysterious circumstances in December 1964. His best tune didn’t peak in the charts until February of the following year.
Since then, most famous artists have sung A Change Is Gonna Come, including Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, The Supremes, Al Green, Tina Turner, and Lizzo.
This was easily Sam Cooke’s most serious work. Previously, he delivered mainly sugar-sweet songs like Ain’t That Good News and Wonderful World.
All these songs make Sam Cooke one of the founding fathers of American soul music.
A Change Is Gonna Come Chords: Continue Learning
Learning A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke isn’t too difficult—if you set aside the intro.
In the course, we break down each section step by step before practising scales, playing the vocal melody, and constructing a second guitar part so we can play it together.
Start learning with the full lesson series: A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke) Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar songs you might enjoy: