The lyrics to the song “Blackbird” are Paul McCartney’s message to the Black folks who struggled throughout the 1960s in the Civil Rights Movement.

The Civil Rights Act coincided with the release of the song “Blackbird.” The “Lads from Liverpool” were across the pond in the United Kingdom, but they wanted to do something that would inspire Black folks to “overcome.” In the grand tradition of spirituals that contained coded messages so that folks who escaped and traveled with the Underground Railroad to Canada and freedom, McCartney called the song “Blackbird” and described a bird with broken wings. In reality, he was singing to those nine schoolgirls who integrated the school in 1957. He pointed out that “bird” was a colloquialism for “girl” in England.

From the Balcony

The first performance of “Blackbird” was low-key and relaxed. McCartney just played it in a window for a bunch of fans down in the street. There were always fans and groupies hanging around the band members’ houses. George Harrison immortalized them in his song “Apple Scruffs.” One night, after returning from Abbey Road, McCartney turned on the light in the studio he had upstairs at his home. He leaned out the window and asked if the fans were still down there. They said, “Yes,” and he just took his guitar and played “Blackbird” for them.

The Dedication

In 2016, McCartney was on tour in the United States. One of the tour’s stops was in Little Rock, Arkansas, which is where the nine Black girls integrated the schools. Two of them were there for the concert. They went backstage and met McCartney, who then went out on stage to sing “Blackbird.” He dedicated the song to those two women: Elizabeth Eckford and Thelma Mothershed Wair. McCartney told the audience that he and his band mates empathized with and cared about the struggles Black people had and that he was happy to play “Blackbird” in Little Rock because of the city’s ties to important events in the Civil Rights Movement. It was then, too, that he said that he wanted the song to be inspirational to those who struggled.

Music Theory

The song is deceptively simple, just McCartney, a guitar, and a shoe as percussion. The chords are not ones you usually associate with popular music. Unlike the song’s outward simplicity, the harmonic structure is complex. There are diminished chords, chords with suspensions, augmented chords, and unusual progressions. It’s truly one of McCartney’s most interesting songs, a masterwork.

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 arise

Blackbird 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 free

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a dark black night

Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of a 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
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney

Blackbird lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore

Listeners of Rock music, might also appreciate the song whiter shade of pale by Procol Harum.