political

The Beatles Albums- Blackbird

Blackbird

Writer : Lennon–McCartney
Length : 2:19
Genre : Folk
Released : 22 November 1968
Recorded : 11 June 1968
Producer : George Martin
Label : Apple Records

 

Lyrics

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to ariseBlack bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be freeBlackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Paul McCartney wrote this about the civil rights struggle for blacks after reading about race riots in the US. He penned it in his kitchen in Scotland not long after Little Rock, when the federal courts forced the racial desegregation of the Arkansas capital’s school system. McCartney told Mojo magazine October 2008: “We were totally immersed in the whole saga which was unfolding. So I got the idea of using a blackbird as a symbol for a black person. It wasn’t necessarily a black ‘bird’, but it works that way, as much as then you called girls ‘birds’; the Everlys had had Bird Dog, so the word ‘bird’ was around. ‘Take these broken wings’ was very much in my mind, but it wasn’t exactly an ornithological ditty; it was purposely symbolic.”

Only 3 things were recorded: Paul’s voice, his acoustic guitar, and a tapping. According to the video The Complete Beatles, the tap was not a foot or metronome – the Master was intentionally scratched. If you listen closely you will notice that is sounds like a scratch on a record. Birds were dubbed in later. songfacts

Blackbird Is a Woman

The title of McCartney’s poetry book Blackbird Singing, released last month, comes from the Beatles’ 1968 acoustic hit “Blackbird,” on the White Album.

Talking with Sawyer, McCartney revealed the symbolism of the lyrics of that song, which includes the lines,

Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

“I wrote it in the ’60s, when the civil rights movement was at its height,” he said. “I liked to think of a blackbird as being a kind of symbol for a black woman.”

Diane Sawyer’s interview with Sir Paul McCartney continues all week on Good Morning America. On Wednesday, they discuss his love affair and marriage with Linda McCartney.

Diane Sawyer’s interview with Sir Paul McCartney continues all week on Good Morning America. On Wednesday, they discuss his love affair and marriage with Linda McCartney.

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