Born by the river in a little tent

I’ve been doing a lot of listening to Sam Cooke lately, thanks to Suheir Hammad’s reference to him in her poem, Daddy’s Song. It took me a few years, but I finally decided to check out who exactly he was, and, whaddaya know, he sang beautifully. I would have just shared this on tumblr, but I’m not sure just how many of you actually click around over there [add it to your RSS feeds, crackstars!]. So, here’s some music and poetry for you:

1. Sam Cooke: A Change is Gonna Come


2. Suheir Hammad: Daddy’s Song


That part at the end, where her father blows her a kiss? The best.

More of my Suheir Hammad favorites (via a comment I left on Maddie’s photo a few weeks ago):

We Spent the 4th of July in Bed

Not Your Erotic, Not Your Exotic

Brooklyn

First Writing Since (my absolute favorite poem of hers)

15 thoughts on “Born by the river in a little tent

  1. my god yes, it was Malcolm X where i heard Sam Cooke first, too. still one of the most beautiful songs out there. there’s also a cover by Otis Redding that’s amazing. the Fugees and Solomon Burke did versions too, just because, well the lyrics are what they are, everyone needs to sing them

  2. thanks for your comment on my blog, yasmine :)
    i’d never heard of this song either and you’re right, it’s beauuutiful.

  3. wow!
    what beautiful voice – I am listening to Sam Cooke ‘s song i on repeat for last ten minutes and i cannot get enough of it –

    The voice gives me goosebumps.

    Thanks for sharing yasmine :)

  4. fathima,
    thanks so much for the other song recs! have downloaded the other versions, too, and will give ’em a listen. otis redding reminds me of another friend of mine; need to listen to more of his music, too.

    bean,
    it’s because i must be the only person in the world who hasn’t seen the Malcolm X filum! sadness. we must remedy this, and soon. i demand a halaqafools movie night!

    mona,
    thank you for stopping by, and for commenting! so glad i was able to introduce you to the song, and that you enjoyed it.

    ayesha,
    aww you sound like me yesterday. i sat on a windowseat in the library, and just listened to this over and over. and then listened to suheir’s Daddy’s Song. and then came back to sam cooke for some more repeats. good estuff. i can’t stop listening to this one either.

    but make sure you check out the poetry, too! suheir hammad is a rockstar, and mesmerizing in her own right.

  5. 1) sam cooke’s voice is just beautiful. that song is so lovely!

    2) WOW, suhair is amazing. just BEAUTIFUL.

    3) and despite your complaints about ppl not checking tumblr, YOU are still not following ME.. :( lol

  6. anjum,
    whaddaya MEAN i’m not following you? i stalk your tumblr through googlereader all the time. i’m pretty sure i’m ‘following’ you and you show up in my dashboard. but i could be wrong. hmm. shall re-check. (how do you check who’s following you, and all that?) BUT. rest assured, i’ve totally been regularly stalking your tumblr. i’ve got you on the RSS, buddy boy! =)

    i see – via fb and tumblr – that you are now a huge suheir hammad fan. SUCCESS! *raises fists in triumph a la anjum on flickr* hahaha

  7. irving,
    i’m always late to the game. i mean, the party. such beautiful songs. i like much. =) good to see you ’round here again!

    sophister,
    i’m downloading that song now, just because!

  8. sam cooke is amazing, mashallah! brought tears to my eyes too. thanx for posting. have u heard any songs by ray lamontagne?? i feel like ray is a modern interpretation of songs by singers like cooke. he has an amazing voice and great lyrics. u should really check him out.

  9. i love this song so much. i promise on god iv’e been through so much stuff this year & i have change.. the lord has bless me and im only 14 years old. i love me and i just want to thank god for blessing me this month of march

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