Forever Changes

One of the most remarkable parts of the Whitney funeral was that rendition of 'A Change Is Gonna Come'. The song was performed by Pastor Kim Burrell, and there were liberties taken with the lyrics. Instead of looking to a bright future for all mankind, the singer insisted that the change has already come, that the spirit of Whitney is in the presence of the eternal.



I thought it was remarkable because the song is essentially a soul anthem, even a protest song. It was written about justice on earth, about the African American struggle and the potential for civil rights. Which of course is the pure delineation between gospel and soul. The latter is about the physical world - the pain, the heartache, the injustice - while gospel looks to a victory beyond the grave. Soul was the upstart that left the church - signalled by Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Artetha and the rest. They took the emotion, the sweet voices, the call-and-response and made it secular.



Conventionally, people reckon that soul was a more commercial form, effectively stealing from the fountainhead. And that explains some of the guilt that the famous soul-stirrers have experienced over the years. But when Kim Burrell sang her version of 'A Change Is Gonna Come' she was reversing the trend.



Sam Cooke wrote the song in 1963, inspired by Bob Dylan and drawing on his own experiences of racism and family tragedy. His recording breaks your heart, and so do versions from Aretha , the Neville Brothers and many others. But if the entire Whitney funeral was about bringing a departed friend back to her spiritual roots, so Kim Burrell reinstated the gospel that ran through the voice, the words and the majesty of Sam Cooke. I'm not sure that I liked her version, but I fully understand that it was a critical homecoming. I'll be playing one of those versions tonight.