Blackbird, by Paul McCartney

In celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 15, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Paul McCartney and the rest of the Beatles most certainly grew up hearing Eurasian Blackbirds. Their song is beautiful, so it's no wonder the Beatles chose to weave it into one of their songs.
But McCartney wasn't singing about the bird. He was singing about the racial strife in the American South in the 1960s. As he said later, "This was really a song from me to a black woman, experiencing these problems in the States: 'keep your faith; there is hope.'" Does the Eurasian Blackbird really sing in the dead of night? Generally not. Still ... what a beautiful, hopeful song.

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Transcript:

BirdNote^®

Blackbird, by Paul McCartney

In celebration of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. - 2013

Written by Ellen Blackstone

This is BirdNote.
[Eurasian Blackbird singing]
This birdsong seems familiar. Intriguing. It’s the song of the Eurasian Blackbird.
[Eurasian Blackbird singing and guitar lines from “Blackbird”]
Paul McCartney and the rest of the Beatles most certainly grew up hearing Eurasian Blackbirds, in their home of Liverpool. Eurasian Blackbirds are common in the gardens and throughout the countryside in Great Britain. [They have such a lovely, lyrical song.] It’s no wonder the Beatles chose to weave it into one of their songs.
[Eurasian Blackbird singing]
But McCartney wasn’t singing about the bird. He was singing about the racial strife in the American South in the 1960s. As he said later, “This was really a song from me to a black woman, experiencing these problems in the States: ‘Let me encourage you to keep trying, to keep your faith; there is hope.’”
       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.
It was a trying time, and Sir Paul said later that he saw the song as empowerment.
       Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
       Into the light of the dark black night
       You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
       You were only waiting for this moment to arise.
[But does the Eurasian Blackbird really sing in the dead of night? Generally not. Still … what a beautiful, hopeful song.]
[Close with McCartney and the Blackbird]
###
Sounds of Eurasian Blackbird provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, 84549 recorded by M. Medler.
“Blackbird” from The White Album with the Beatles, E.M.I. Records, 1968. Written by Paul McCartney. (McCartney said the music was inspired by J.S. Bach's Bourrée in E minor.)
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2013 Tune In to Nature.org     January 2013     Narrator: Mary McCann