"The Change" is a song written by Tony Arata and Wayne Tester, and recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was released in March 1996 as the fourth single from the album Fresh Horses. The song reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. Content The song describes someone making an effort to fix the world, even though people keep telling them that they'll "never change things", and that their effort will not make the world a significantly better place. He describes his action as being "like trying to stop a fire with the moisture from a kiss". Ultimately, the singer concludes that even if he fails to change the world, the world "will not change me". Music video The music video was directed by Jon Small and premiered in February 1996. The song pays respect to the families of victims of the Oklahoma City bombing. The video shows Brooks dressed in dark clothing and singing, while he is surrounded by large screens showing news footage and photographic images from the incident. Chart performance "The Change" re-entered the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks at number 71 as an official single for the week of March 30, 1996. Year-end charts References 1996 singles 1996 songs Garth Brooks songs Songs written by Tony Arata Song recordings produced by Allen Reynolds Capitol Records Nashville singles Songs written by Wayne Tester Works about the Oklahoma City bombing