Miss Minto’s Musical Moment – Number 59 – Blackbird, Paul McCartney

Miss Minto’s Musical Moment – Number 59 – Blackbird, Paul McCartney

In the 1960s, Paul McCartney was touring America with The Beatles. Whilst there, he was shocked by how black people were being treated. He saw a black lady being arrested for sitting in a section reserved for white people. Back home in Liverpool, Paul saw how horrible segregation (keeping black people separate from white people) was for black people.

On television Paul saw the race riots happening and wanted to write a song to support particularly black women. In Liverpool, girls were often called ‘birds’ so he used the title ‘Blackbird’ for his song.

Paul said that he and The Beatles cared passionately about the Civil Rights Movement “so 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."

https://youtu.be/RDxfjUEBT9I

Paul McCartney singing Blackbird at Glastonbury

https://youtu.be/BpWHJkEosAA

Paul McCartney talking about the making of Blackbird – the influence of Bach’s music, 1960s Civil Rights Movement and black women having little or no rights. He used the Blackbird as a symbol for black women.

https://youtu.be/99-LoEkAA3w

Emma Stevens (16) singing Blackbird in Mi’kmaq –
a language of American indigenous people

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the 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

Paul McCartney met up with two of the women who inspired him to write Blackbird, Thelma Mothershed Wair and Elizabeth Eckford, members of the Little Rock Nine.

NB: During online learning I have been producing Miss Minto’s Musical Moments. These are freely available for use with pupils and are suitable for primary aged children. Some will appear on TES and some on the Facebook page for Notable Songs Ltd. Search using: “Miss Minto’s Musical Moments”. There are several dozen “Musical Moments”!