“Blackbird” is today’s classic song of the day. This tune was a standout track on the Beatles’ so-called White Album (technically, just called The Beatles), which was released in 1968.
Paul McCartney wrote “Blackbird,” although it was attributed to Lennon-McCartney, as were all their Beatles-era tunes. But “Blackbird” was a McCartney solo show; not only did he write it, he was the only Beatle playing on it. That was him singing, him playing acoustic guitar, and him tapping his feet in time.
The opening melody for “Blackbird” was inspired by Bach’s Bourrée in E minor, a famous piece for lute. Paul didn’t play lute but he was able to translate and mutate the piece for guitar. It’s said he and George Harrison used to play around with this one when they were younger.
The song “Blackbird” isn’t about birds. It’s about something a tad heavier than that, the American Civil Rights movement and the struggle for Black Americans to gain their rightful place in society. In Paul’s own words:
“At the time in 1968 when I was writing ‘Blackbird,’ I was very conscious of the terrible racial tensions in the US. The year before, 1967, had been a particularly bad year, but 1968 was even worse. The song was written only a few weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. That imagery of the broken wings and the sunken eyes and the general longing for freedom is very much of its moment.”
McCartney recorded “Blackbird” on June 11, 1968, at Abbey Road Studios. George Martin produced and Geoff Emerick worked the board. Paul played a Martin D-28 acoustic guitar while the engineer added the bird sounds. (A male common blackbird, natch).
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, then, here’s an older and wiser Paul McCartney performing “Blackbird” live at New York’s Grand Central Station on September 7, 2018. It’s one of his best.
