Beatles song written by Paul McCartney to fight racism

The only “crime” of these nine brave students was to fight for the equal education they would have received had their skin color been different. The civil rights movement did not reach its “official” conclusion until the Civil Rights Act of 1968, and in the same year McCartney wrote “Blackbird”, a song often mistaken as just being about an animal, with many people missing the British dub. the meaning of “bird” as “girl”. The piece is among his most moving, resonating even deeper when its true inspiration is understood.

Discussing his work years later, McCartney once explained, “I had in mind a black woman rather than a bird. It was the days of the civil rights movement, which we were all passionate about, so this was really a song from me to a black woman who was dealing with these issues in the States: “Let me encourage you to keep trying, keep at it. faith, there is hope. As often happens with my stuff, there was a cover-up so instead of saying “Black woman living in Little Rock” and it being very specific it became a bird, it became symbolic, so you could apply it to your particular problem’.

With just McCartney’s voice, his acoustic guitar and the background sound of birdsong, “Blackbird” is a stark, minimalist effort. The quiet, almost contemplative feel of the track is enhanced by the minimalism of the arrangement, which also highlights the lyrical themes. The steady, flowing rhythm produced by McCartney’s finger-picking guitar approach anchors the song while letting the song soar.

“I was sitting with my acoustic guitar and I heard about the civil rights issues that were going on in the ’60s in Alabama, Mississippi, especially in Little Rock,” McCartney later recounted. GQ. “I thought it would be really good if I could write something that, if it ever reached any of the people going through those problems, it could give them a little bit of hope. So, I wrote “Blackbird”.

Two members of the Little Rock Nine were Elizabeth Eckford and Thelma Mothershed Wair. Almost sixty years after cementing their place in the history books, they met Paul McCartney backstage at his concert in Little Rock in 2016 and were in the crowd to watch the former Beatle dedicate ‘Blackbird’ to them “.

When McCartney introduced “Blackbird,” he passionately told the audience, “In the sixties, there were a lot of civil rights issues, especially in Little Rock. We’d see that on the news in England, so it’s a really important place for us because, to me, that’s where civil rights started.”

He added: “We would see what was going on and sympathize with the people going through those troubles and it made me want to write a song that if they ever got back to the people going through those troubles, it could help them . a little, and this is the next one.”

Although McCartney is not typically a political songwriter, “Blackbird” demonstrates his unwavering alignment with the right side of history. Advocacy for equality is not inherently political; it is a fundamental human right. By 1968, The Beatles had become more than just a band – they were a cultural phenomenon with significant influence. McCartney’s support of the civil rights movement amplified the cause, giving weight to those advocating justice and equality.

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