Blackbird Speech

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McCartney opens up about his songwriting process and the profound meaning of his song, “Blackbird”. BY ANGUS MAY | November 23, 2014 This interview took place in Paul McCartney’s isolated flat in Orange County, Los Angeles, during Paul’s preparation for for his ‘Out There’ US tour, starting in December. I arrived in the afternoon of November 3rd and met Paul sitting with a Martin guitar resting on his lap. The small apartment could not possibly be mistaken for anyones besides Paul’s. The scent of Indian incense and English tea filled the living room, and abstract paintings filled empty spaces on the brick walls. Paul had a recording session in half an hour, leaving me just enough time to ask him about the inspiration and genius behind…show more content…
My inspiration for this song arose from learning about the African American’s struggle during the civil rights movement. Growing up in Liverpool, we would use the word ‘bird’ as slang for ‘women,’ so the blackbird became a symbol for African Americans. Thats how I came up with the title. How do the rest of the song lyrics reflect the scenario of the civil rights movement? An underlying theme in Blackbird is how nothing lasts forever. For hundreds of years black people have lived under the torment inflicted by higher class whites. Isn’t it justified for them to finally stand up for their own well being? I tried to get at this idea from [sings] “All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise.” One’s patience must eventually give way. Right, this is also the metaphor you present in the line “Take these broken wings and learn to fly, all your life” correct?” More or less - the message of the song boils down to this one line. Learning to fly with broken wings is practically impossible. As is to “take these sunken eyes and learn to see,” which is the line afterwards. An African American achieving a firm standing within society seemed this way to me - what, 400 years of of being enslaved and segregated? Its impossible to suddenly achieve equality in a matter of years. Learning to “fly” must take patience, courage, and…show more content…
I like to create a connection between my audience and my lyrics you know, and thats what I tried to do in my song Anaconda. Right, lyrics that connect with the audience’s emotions definitely put value into a song. Could you share some examples of this in Anaconda? The lyrics is just talking about two guys I dated in the past. Like, when I said Troy “don't like 'em boney, he want something he can grab,” its something sexual people can relate to. It's just a cheeky, funny story that people can relate to, you know. There has been considerable criticism regarding the song’s explicit references. However, there must be a reason to include lyrical details such as these. “Yeah, I like to write about my life and although some lyrics may be explicit, I think I can relate to other people who have had similar experiences. When I say stuff like “I’m high as hell”, and “Fuck the skinny bitches”, I get criticised a lot. But its my life and my lyrics, you know, I don’t care what people think about
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