10 Standout Rock Songs About Change

Feature Photo by Lo Vy

Change has always been one of rock music’s biggest subjects, whether the song is about changing yourself, refusing to change, or demanding change in the world around you. These ten songs approach that idea from personal, social, and political directions.

# 10 – A Change Would Do You Good – Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow released “A Change Would Do You Good” in 1997 as the fourth single from her 1996 self-titled album. Crow, Jeff Trott, and Brian MacLeod wrote the song, and Crow produced it; it reached No. 8 in the UK and No. 2 in Canada. Its message is simple: when life becomes stale or stuck, sometimes the best answer is to change something.

Read More: Top 10 Sheryl Crow Songs

# 9 – Change My Way of Living – The Allman Brothers Band

Dickey Betts wrote “Change My Way of Living” for The Allman Brothers Band’s 1994 album Where It All Begins, produced by Tom Dowd. The band recorded the album together on a soundstage in Jupiter, Florida, using a live-in-the-studio approach. Betts sings from the point of view of someone who knows his life has gone off course and finally accepts that he has to change it.

# 8 – Can’t Change Me – Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell released “Can’t Change Me” in 1999 as the first single from his debut solo album, Euphoria Morning. Written by Cornell and produced by Cornell, Natasha Shneider, and Alain Johannes, the song reached No. 5 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and No. 7 on the Modern Rock chart. The title turns the idea of change around by focusing on someone who can affect everyone around her but cannot change the narrator himself.

Read More: Top 10 Chris Cornell Songs

# 7 – Change It – Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble

Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble released “Change It” on their 1985 album Soul to Soul. Written by Doyle Bramhall and produced by Vaughan, Double Trouble, and Richard Mullen, the song pushes back against empty promises and insists that change has to show up in what someone actually does. Vaughan’s vocal and guitar give the message more force than explanation ever could.

Read More: Top 10 Stevie Ray Vaughan Songs

# 6 – I’d Love to Change the World – Ten Years After

Alvin Lee wrote and sang “I’d Love to Change the World” for Ten Years After’s 1971 album A Space in Time, produced by Chris Wright. The single reached No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the band its only U.S. Top 40 hit. Lee looks at a world full of political, social, and economic problems while admitting how difficult it is to know where meaningful change should begin.

Read More: Top 10 Ten Years After Songs

# 5 – Change – John Waite

Holly Knight wrote “Change” and first recorded it with Spider in 1981 before John Waite released his version on the 1982 album Ignition. Produced by Neil Giraldo, Waite’s recording reached No. 16 on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks chart and returned to attention when it appeared in the 1985 film Vision Quest, reaching No. 54 on the Hot 100. The song is built around the idea that nothing improves until you decide to make the change yourself.

Read More: Top 10 John Waite Songs

# 4 – Don’t Change – INXS

INXS released “Don’t Change” from their 1982 album Shabooh Shoobah. Written by all six members of the band and produced by Mark Opitz, the song reached No. 18 in Australia and later No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Instead of demanding transformation, the lyric asks someone not to change and makes self-acceptance the point.

Read More: Top 10 INXS Songs

# 3 – A Change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke wrote and recorded “A Change Is Gonna Come” in 1964, and it first appeared on Ain’t That Good News while Cooke was still alive. The song drew partly from his experience being turned away from a whites-only motel in Louisiana and became one of the defining songs associated with the Civil Rights Movement. Its single release came on December 22, 1964, less than two weeks after Cooke’s death.

Read More: Top 10 Sam Cooke Songs

# 2 – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan released “The Times They Are A-Changin’” as the title song of his 1964 album. Written as a direct call to recognize that social and generational change was already underway, the song became closely associated with the upheaval of the 1960s. It was not originally issued as a U.S. single, but a UK release reached No. 9 in 1965.

# 1 – Changes – David Bowie

David Bowie recorded “Changes” at Trident Studios in 1971 for Hunky Dory and released it as a single on January 7, 1972. Written by Bowie and produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, the track features Rick Wakeman on piano with Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, and Mick Woodmansey. Bowie made change itself part of his identity, and this song turned personal and artistic reinvention into one of his defining themes.