I was born by the river, in a little tent
And just like the river, I've been running ever, ever since
It's been a long, long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will, oh

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 is gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to a movie, and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me, "Don't you, don't you hang around"
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother and I say, "Brother, oh brother, would you help me please"
But he winds up knocking me, knocking me back down, back down to my knees, oh yeah

There've been times that I've thought I wouldn't last for long
But I think that I, I could carry, carry on
It's been a long, yes it has, it's been a long time coming
But I know, know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will, I know for myself, God
A change is gonna come, I believe a change is gonna come
Oh, a change is gonna come