This song was written in the 1960’s.  It was civil rights movement.  People wanted equal rights, and felt like they were equally as special as everyone else.  This song was saying that everyone has a special purpose in life, and they were about to live up to their full potential.

This song is still known today. I guess it was quite popular. When we sing it today, the meaning of the song has not really changed, except we are not really talking about equal rights. Just that we are going to live up to our full potential.