Artist & Tune
Reference
About the Song
The song (sung by Mahalia Jackson) made famous by its appearance in the 1959 film 'Imitation of Life' directed by Douglas Sirk. It was Sirk's final Hollywood film and dealt with issues of race, class and gender. This was the second film adaptation of Fannie Hurst's novel of the same name. The first, directed by John M. Stahl, was released in 1934.
The late Irish singer Sinead O'Connor made a video of the song in October 2020 with all receipts going to Black Lives Matter organizations. Her official vidoe of the song features her carrying a sign depicting Mahalia Jackson's image. O'Connor wrote at the time the single was released: "There became this incredible movement that I found really moving with these women in the streets saying that when George Floyd called his mother, he called all the mothers, she explained to Mojo magazine. "It made me feel that this was the right time to release a record, because my Mahalia was a very strong mothering figure and a huge figure in the Civil Rights Movement."
O'Connor added it is not a bleak song. "It's written that the world will become the Garden of Eden which it was intended to be, and that to me is what the song is saying."
Songfacts about the song: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/mahalia-jackson/trouble-of-the-world