Celebrating Sir Paul: Blackbird
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (86575)
United States
June 3, 2026 9:27am CST
Mumbling incoherently because of all that stuff the dentist sticks in your mouth for cleaning and filling, but we’re still going to celebrate Paul McCartney and his birthday. Hopefully my mouth will be recovered from the numbing by the 18th to shout “Happy birthday, Sir Paul!” to him. If not, we’ll keep singing some of his greatest songs (well, in my opinion). Here’s today’s song.
Blackbird (Beatles)
Believe it or not, this was inspired by two things: Paul hearing the song of the blackbird in India when the Beatles went to see the Maharishi, and the U.S. civil rights movement. How about that for a combination?
It wasn’t that unusual in the late 60s to find multiple meanings in a song. If you look at a lot of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s songs, you’ll see multiple meanings (to the point where John Fogerty still has to tell people that “Bad Moon Rising” was inspired by a hurricane, not by political unrest!). For McCartney to be inspired by multiple, and very diverse things (you think of a bird as being free, and you thing about the Civil Rights movement being about trying to obtain freedom) is no surprise.
The fact that it turned out one of the classic later-era Beatles songs is also no surprise.
Blackbird
Written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney)
From The Beatles (Beatles), 1968
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8 people like this
7 responses
@MarieCoyle (59107)
•
3 Jun
I loved this song from the start. Not complicated lyrics, but the message...I know I have read that he wrote it for the black women of the south and what they had gone through and were going through. Kind of a ''keep the faith'' message and to encourage others fighting diversity to keep on. So much hidden meaning in this song.
Sorry about the dental stuff...no one likes going to the dentist, for sure. I hope you can eat today without pain or discomfort.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
4 Jun
I skipped the fluoride treatment so I could eat (you have to wait half an hour after it, and they were running behind…so I wouldn’t have been able to have lunch between appointments). The worst of the lot was the dermatologist, who took a cyst off my chin. Ouch.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59107)
•
4 Jun
@FourWalls
Oh, ouch! I am so sorry. That would hurt.
And all of that in one day is a lot!
I had a cyst deep in my hand, between the bones that lead to the index and middle finger. It was small for a long time and didn't really bother me, but it decided to get big very quickly all of a sudden and doc said it had to come off. He said it concerned him...but it ended up being benign. It was, however, very painful after it came out, it ended up being rather a large ''excavation'' project. I didn't think it was ever going to heal, and I had to keep it bandaged for days. But now it's fine, and I am so glad it's gone. You will be, too. I'm just sorry you had all of that in one day! 
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
4 Jun
@MarieCoyle — the worst thing was the headache that the numbing shot caused. 
Well, that and the fact that I have purple magic marker all over the outside of the wound. 
Well, that and the fact that I have purple magic marker all over the outside of the wound. 1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43567)
• Denver, Colorado
3 Jun
When I worked at Showbiz Pizza in the 80's, Billy Bob used to sing this during one of the shows they would run. I can't hear this in any voice but Billy Bob to this day. 
2 people like this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
4 Jun
I can only imagine what someone named “Billy Bob” sounded like singing it, too!
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
4 Jun
@teamfreak16 — I grew up with the Country Bear Jamboree, so anything that looks like that sounds like Tex Ritter.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43567)
• Denver, Colorado
4 Jun
@FourWalls - He was an animatronic bear. Before Chuck E. Cheese bought him out and took over.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3 Jun
I know the song well but not a particular favorite,
2 people like this
@FourWalls (86575)
• United States
4 Jun
Hope you at least enjoy the song. I don’t have time to apologize for our moronic politicians…too many of them, for one thing.
