Iconic singer Paul McCartney loved Beyoncé's Blackbird cover, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Sir Paul shared a post on Instagram and said that he gave the superstar blessing to add The Beatles classic on her latest album Cowboy Carter.
He wrote, “I spoke to her on FaceTime and she thanked me for writing it and letting her do it. I told her the pleasure was all mine and I thought she had done a killer version of the song.”
McCartney posted that he's “so happy” with Bey's cover. He said she “does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.”
View this post on Instagram
There have been several answers regarding the song's subject is. McCartney once said that he was inspired by a blackbird's call when the band was in India as well support for the Civil Rights Movement.
In the post, he confirmed the latter reason. He said that Blackbird was inspired by a group of Black students, the Little Rock Nine, who were enrolled in the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School. However, a mob prevented them from actually entering the school. They were also bullied continuously all throughout the school year.
“When I saw the footage on the television in the early '60s of the black girls being turned away from school, I found it shocking and I can't believe that still in these days there are places where this kind of thing is happening right now. Anything my song and Beyoncés fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud,” McCartney continued.
Blackbirds have symbolized different things to different cultures. To the Celts, they associated them with deities and the otherworld. Their songs were also thought to resurrect the dead.
In Christianity, they aren't viewed favorably. Christians believed blackbirds represented sexual pleasure. Ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, use them as the representation of rebirth and regeneration.
The Shinto deity Izanagi was associated with the blackbird and was thought to guide souls to either paradise or incarnation. They were also seen as omens for good luck and happy marriages. However, if they unexpectedly show up on your doorway, that's bad luck.
McCartney further explained his use of the bird in a GQ video in 2018 that since a bird is also a word used for girls — at least in '60s England — he thought about “a Black girl going through this. You know, now's your time to arise, to see yourself free and take these broken wings.”
The Beatles weren't the only iconic musicians present in Beyoncé's album. There's also her version of Dolly Parton's Jolene. The legendary country singer was also effusive in her praise for covering her song.
Follow Us
Subscribe