The Meaning Behind “I Feel Hope Coming” by Alabama Shakes and an Optimistic Protest Song for Modern Times

It’s been 11 years since Alabama Shakes last released a studio album. “I Feel Hope Coming” is the third track from the band’s upcoming LP, I Must Be Dreaming. It echoes the classic protest anthems of the 1970s, but the track is firmly rooted in our chaotic modern times.

Though a heavy melancholy hangs over the soulful tune, “I Feel Hope Coming” remains optimistic amid the world’s current darkness.

The Fever’s Breaking

“I Feel Hope Coming” is Alabama Shakes finding light. If Marvin Gaye once asked, What’s going on? then this opening verse answers with a call to action: if you want change, you’re going to have to make change happen.

It’s gonna take more than prayers to change this place,
It’s gonna take a lot of “I don’t know if I can.”
They beat us down, make us crazy,
Make us sick, call us lazy.
I don’t want your martial law, I want clean air,
I don’t want no enemies that ain’t even there.
Make us work, but they can’t pay us,
I want to work so they can’t play us.

Despite a world drowning in cynicism, singer Brittany Howard feels hopeful. And that confidence may lie in future generations who won’t be content to just sit and let the world rot.

Howard told Rolling Stone, “This younger generation makes me feel hopeful because they can see through all the political lies—that song’s about holding onto that hope, and refusing to give up.”

I feel hope coming, I feel hope coming.

There are multiple ways a politician can manipulate the public. One is dividing voters with wedge issues that deflect from more pressing concerns like education, housing, and healthcare. The other is apathy. And Howard sings about becoming numb to the flood of bad news and cartoonish corruption.  

They wanna take my home,
And turn it upside down on me,
Until my heart is numb.

Whatever’s Coming, Let It Come

Howard sounds resigned here. But she’s not acquiescing. Instead, she pushes forward, transforming the world’s tumult into fuel for a kinetic revolt.

Whatever’s coming, let it come,
There’s no man that can make me run.
All the hell that we put through each other,
Can make us so strong.

Photo by Aldara Zarraoa/WireImage