This summer I had the privilege of traveling and working in British Columbia, where I hiked close to several massive glaciers. Though they were retreating in the warm weather, they were a formidable force. Their size and presence took my breath away, as did the volume of water that flowed from them into swollen streams and rivers.

Glaciers are slow-moving agents of transformation that have shaped and re-shaped the planet for millennia. And they reminded me change is natural and inevitable.

Resistance is also natural and inevitable. And while it may take a very long time to notice the slow, shaping force of a glacier or river or wind, it’s happening in ways we may never fully recognize or see in our lifetime.

That wisdom worked on my imagination during long drives across the province and came forth as a kind of protest song. I heard the words as a message for those fatigued by the seemingly endless resistance to change in our world, our country, and our churches. While it’s easy to find ourselves impatient, depressed, or angry with the slow pace of progress, it feels important and hopeful to assert “change is gonna come.” Though we may not always see it, injustice, cynicism, and hatred will not last but are being lovingly worn down and reshaped by Love.

I first shared this song at the Eden Seminary’s annual Festival of Psalms and taught the refrain to the community. The piece could be also be learned and sung by a soloist, a choir, or within the context of a protest or action.

Take a listen to the recording below and purchase sheet music here.

It may be slow.
It may seem late.
It may be voted down, resisted or de layed.
But like a steady glacier,
turning hardest stone to grains of sand: change is gonna come.
Yes, change is gonna come.

It may be slow.
It may seem late.
It may be voted down, resisted or delayed.
But like a mighty river
Carving deep new grooves into the land: change is gonna come.
Yes, change is gonna come.

It may be slow.
It may seem late.
It may be voted down, resisted or delayed.
But like a strong, relentless wind bending the shape of tallest trees: change is gonna come.
Yes, change is gonna come.