Is this any different from John Mayer?

I fell in love with this song when I first heard it. To me, it was a song of hope and faith. In parts of the song Cooke expresses a weariness at the disappointments and hardships of life, but he remembers that one day a change will come.

A few posts back I talked about John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change". He's received a lot of criticism because his song seems to be somewhat apathetic. However, compare Sam Cooke's song to John Mayer's. To me, the theme of each of these songs is the same. They, both, identify problems or troubles, and acknowledge the hope will one day come. They look forward to the day when that hope is realised. So why, then, is one song praised and the other looked down on?

I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I've been running ever since
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die
Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me don't hang around
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will
 
Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knocking me
Back down on my knees
 
Ohhhhhhhhh.....
 
There been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will