Blackbird (Beatles song)#Cover versions

{{listen|filename=Johann Sebastian Bach - Suite BWV 996, E Minor - V Bourrée.ogg|title= Lute Suite No. 1 – BWV 996, E Minor – V Bourrée|description=Performed on a lautenwerck by Martha Goldstein|format=Ogg|pos=left}}

McCartney explained on Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road that the guitar accompaniment for "Blackbird" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's Bourrée in E minor, a well-known lute piece, often played on the classical guitar. As teenagers, he and George Harrison tried to learn Bourrée as a "show off" piece. The Bourrée is distinguished by melody and bass notes played simultaneously on the upper and lower strings. McCartney said that he adapted a segment of the Bourrée (reharmonised into the original's relative major key of G) as the opening of "Blackbird", and carried the musical idea throughout the song. The first three notes of the song, which then transitioned into the opening guitar riff, were inspired from Bach.{{Cite web |last=Halliday |first=Ayun |date=2 January 2023 |title=Paul McCartney Explains How Bach Influenced "Blackbird" |url=https://www.openculture.com/2023/01/paul-mccartney-explains-how-bach-influenced-blackbird.html |access-date=December 17, 2023 |website=OpenCulture}}{{Cite web |last=Tanenbaum |first=Ross |date=2023-01-03 |title=Paul McCartney Shares How Bach Inspired 'Blackbird' |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-shares-bach-inspired-blackbird.html/ |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=Showbiz Cheat Sheet}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UWkn55ByGM |title=Paul McCartney Explains Blackbird |date=2021-06-25 |last=Michelangelo CC |access-date=2024-07-04 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpWHJkEosAA |title=Paul McCartney – Blackbird (The Beatles) {{!}} Het verhaal achter het nummer |date=2017-12-04 |access-date=2024-07-04 |via=YouTube}}

The first night his future wife Linda Eastman stayed at his home, McCartney played "Blackbird" for the fans camped outside his house.{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=256fn}}

Since composing "Blackbird" in 1968, McCartney has given various statements regarding both his inspiration for the song and its meaning.{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/feature/115751-re-meet-the-beatles-the-records-day-four-1968-1969/P1/ |title=The Records, Day Four: 1968–1969|date=11 November 2009|first=James|last=Flemming|publisher=PopMatters|access-date=21 December 2015}} He has said that he was inspired by hearing the call of a blackbird one morning when the Beatles were studying Transcendental Meditation in Rishikesh, India and also{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=160}} writing it in Scotland as a response to the Little Rock Nine incident and the overall Civil Rights movement, wanting to write a song dedicated to people who had been affected by discrimination.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=190}}{{Cite web |last=Hopper |first=Alex |date=2022-07-23 |title=Behind the Civil Rights Message Of "Blackbird" by The Beatles |url=https://americansongwriter.com/meaning-blackbird-the-beatles-song-lyrics/ |access-date=2023-12-17 |website=American Songwriter}}

In May 2002, following a show in Dallas, Texas, McCartney discussed the song with KCRW DJ Chris Douridas, saying:

I had been doing some [poetry readings] in the last year or so because I've got a poetry book out called Blackbird Singing, and when I would read "Blackbird", I would always try and think of some explanation to tell the people … So, I was doing explanations, and I actually just remembered why I'd written "Blackbird", you know, that I'd been, I was in Scotland playing on my guitar, and I remembered this whole idea of "you were only waiting for this moment to arise" was about, you know, the black people's struggle in the southern states, and I was using the symbolism of a blackbird. It's not really about a blackbird whose wings are broken, you know, it's a bit more symbolic.{{cite web |last1=Douridas |first1=Chris |title=NewGround: Paul McCartney |url=https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/chris-douridas/paul-mccartney |website=KCRW | access-date=21 March 2021 |time=17:50–19:00 |date=25 May 2002}}

In 2018, McCartney further elaborated on the song's meaning, explaining that "blackbird" should be interpreted as "black girl",{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u97_inloBmY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/u97_inloBmY| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Paul McCartney Breaks Down His Most Iconic Songs | GQ|date=11 September 2018 |access-date=22 April 2021|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} in the context of the civil rights troubles in southern 1960s US.

His stepmother, Angie McCartney,{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=160}} has claimed that McCartney wrote it for her elderly mother, Edith Stopforth, who was staying at Jim McCartney's house while recovering from a long illness. Angie recalled that McCartney visited the house and sat at Edith's bedside, where Edith told him that she would listen to a bird singing at night.{{sfn|Turner|1999|p=160}}

Although McCartney has been consistent in the meaning, there are still varied interpretations – as a nature song, a message in support of the Black Power movement, or a love song.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=317}} Writing in the 1990s, Ian MacDonald noted the theory that "Blackbird" was intended as "a metaphor for the black civil rights struggle",{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=256fn}} but pointed to the composition's romantic qualities, arguing that the early-morning bird song "translates … into a succinct metaphor for awakening on a deeper level".{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|pp=256, 256fn}} However, during an informal rehearsal at EMI Studios on 22 November 1968, before he and Donovan took part in a Mary Hopkin recording session, McCartney played "Blackbird", telling Donovan that he wrote it after having "read something in the paper about the riots" and that he meant the black "bird" to symbolise a black woman.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VrcsjDUfGw#| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413160542/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VrcsjDUfGw| archive-date=2017-04-13 |title=Paul McCartney & Donovan – Postcard Sessions 1968|website=YouTube|date=13 April 2016}}

Along with McCartney's "Helter Skelter", "Blackbird" was one of several White Album songs that Charles Manson interpreted as the Beatles' prophecy of an apocalyptic race war that would lead to him and his "Family" of followers ruling the US on countercultural principles. Manson interpreted the lyrics as a call to black Americans to wage war on their white counterparts, and instructed his followers to commit a series of murders in Los Angeles in August 1969 to trigger such a conflict.{{sfn|Miles|1997|pp=489–90}}

File:Solsort.jpg singing]]

The song was recorded on 11 June 1968 at EMI's Abbey Road Studios' Studio 2, in London,{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=255}} with George Martin as the producer and Geoff Emerick as the audio engineer.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=137}} It is a solo performance with McCartney playing a Martin D-28 acoustic guitar. The track includes recordings of a male common blackbird singing in the background.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=137}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-beatles-songs-20110919/blackbird-19691231|title=Blackbird|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=10 April 2020}}

Apart from the blackbird, only three sounds were recorded: McCartney's voice, his guitar, and a tapping that keeps time on the left channel.{{Cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-beatles/blackbird|title=Blackbird by The Beatles - Songfacts|website=www.songfacts.com}} This tapping "has been incorrectly identified as a metronome in the past", according to engineer Geoff Emerick, who said it is actually the sound of Paul tapping his foot. McCartney also said the same in The Beatles Anthology documentary. Emerick recalls [Paul's foot-taps, presumably] as being mic'd up separately.{{Cite book |last1=Ryan |first1=Kevin |last2=Kehew |first2=Brian |title=Recording the Beatles: The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums |date=2006 |publisher=Curvebender |isbn=978-0-9785200-0-7 |page=484 |author2-link=Brian Kehew |title-link=Recording the Beatles}} Footage included in the bonus content on disc two of the 2009 remaster of the album shows McCartney tapping both his feet alternately while performing the song.

The mono version contains the bird sounds a few seconds earlier than the stereo recording, and was originally issued on a mono incarnation of The Beatles (it has since been issued worldwide as part of The Beatles in Mono CD box set). The song appears on the 2006 remix album Love with "Yesterday", billed as "Blackbird/Yesterday". "Blackbird" provides an introduction to "Yesterday".

In 1973, McCartney included the song, along with the Beatles track "Michelle",{{sfn|Madinger|Easter|2000|p=180}} as part of his acoustic medley in the television special James Paul McCartney.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=96}}

Starting with his 1975–76 world tour with the band Wings, McCartney has performed "Blackbird" on every one of his concert tours.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=153}} A solo performance of the song, followed by "Yesterday", appears on Wings' 1976 live album Wings Over America.

McCartney also included "Blackbird" in his set at the Party at the Palace concert in June 2002. In 2009, McCartney performed the song at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, commenting prior to singing it on how it had been written in response to the Civil Rights Movement, and added, "It's so great to realise so many civil rights issues have been overcome."{{cite web |first=Adam |last=Bychawski |publisher=nme.com |title=Paul McCartney gets emotional during marathon Coachella set |date=18 April 2009 |url=https://www.nme.com/news/nme/44121 |access-date=21 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222140421/http://www.nme.com/news/nme/44121 |archive-date=22 December 2015 }}

A live version appears in the multi-CD collection Good Evening New York City, which was released in 2009 and recorded inside the American stadium Citi Field.

The song is regarded as one of the best in the Beatles' discography, and is generally considered one of McCartney's finest musical achievements.{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Hugh |date=January 15, 2025 |title=The Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ Needed More Than Half A Century To Hit The Top 40 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2025/01/08/the-beatles-blackbird-needed-more-than-half-a-century-to-hit-the-top-40/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Shoaf |first=Alex |date=October 2, 2019 |title=The Top 20 Beatles Songs, #16: "Blackbird" |url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-top-20-beatles-songs-16-blackbird/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |website=American Songwriter}}{{Cite web |last=Beaumont |first=Mark |date=November 2, 2024 |title=The Beatles: every song ranked in order of greatness |url=https://www.nme.com/features/the-beatles-every-song-ranked-3121214 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=June 19, 2024 |title=Paul McCartney’s 80 Best Songs, Ranked |url=https://variety.com/lists/paul-mccartney-best-songs/i-will-paul-mccartney-best-songs/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |website=Variety}} Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of The Independent listed "Blackbird" at number five in his ranking of the White Album's 30 tracks. He said that its "beautiful calmness" was at odds with the growing racial tensions that allegedly inspired the song, and concluded: "For many, it's the apotheosis of McCartney's career and remains a standout in his solo live shows."{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-beatles-white-album-tracks-ranked-paul-mccartney-john-lennon-george-harrison-50-anniversary-a8643431.html|first=Jacob|last=Stolworthy|title=The Beatles' White Album tracks, ranked – from Blackbird to While My Guitar Gently Weeps|newspaper=The Independent|date=22 November 2018|access-date=27 March 2019}} Although the 1985 Mr. Mister song "Broken Wings" contains an identical lyric, "Take these broken wings and learn to fly", Mr. Mister member Richard Page has described this as "a mindless unintentional reference" attributable to songwriter John Lang being inspired by Kahlil Gibran's 1912 book Broken Wings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.smoothradio.com/features/best-power-ballads/|title=19 of the greatest power ballads of all time|website=Smooth|date=2 July 2018}}

According to Ian MacDonald:{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|page=291}}

• Paul McCartney – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar, tape loops, foot tapping

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"Blackbird" was the eighth-most-recorded song of all time as of December 2008.{{cite news|first=John|last=Elmes|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-10-most-covered-songs-1052165.html|title=The 10 Most Covered Songs|work=The Independent|date=5 December 2008|access-date=3 April 2019}}

Crosby, Stills & Nash recorded a version in February of 1969 during sessions for their debut album; it was later released on their box set of 1991.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/csn-box-set--mw0001986669#review |title=CSN [Box Set] – Crosby, Stills & Nash – Review |first=Bruce |last=Eder |work=AllMusic}}{{cite web |first=Ian |last=McCann |title=Paul McCartney's 'Blackbird' — a longing for change |date=11 September 2018 |url=https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/blackbird.html |work=ig.ft.com}} Concert versions by the trio can also be found on the document of their 1974 tour as well as the 2019 expanded set of performances from the Woodstock Festival.{{cite web |last1=Hyden |first1=Steven |title=Just How Debauched Was Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1974 Doom Tour? A True or False Quiz |url=https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/just-how-debauched-was-crosby-stills-nash-youngs-1974-doom-tour-a-true-or-false-quiz/ |date=6 August 2014 |website=Grantland |author-link=Steven Hyden}}{{cite web |first=John |last=Kelman |date=10 August 2019 |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/woodstockback-to-the-garden-50th-anniversary-experience-various-artists-rhino-review-by-john-kelman.php |title=Various Artists: Woodstock – Back to the Garden: 50th Anniversary Experience |work=All About Jazz}}

In 2008, Scottish folk musician Julie Fowlis sang '"Blackbird" in Scottish Gaelic on a recording commissioned by Mojo magazine to celebrate The White Album's 40th anniversary.{{cite web |last=Adams |first=Rob |url=https://www.robadamsjournalist.com/juliefowlis.asp |title=Julie Fowlis – on Brave, Gaelic, flowers and couture|website= Rob Adams Journalist |access-date=18 June 2024}}{{cite web |last=Harding |first=Mike |title=Julie Fowlis on Lon-dubh / Blackbird |date=1 October 2008 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/folk/2008/10/julie-fowlis-on-londubh-blackb.html |website=www.bbc.co.uk |author-link=Mike Harding}} The song has subsequently been part of her live repertoire.{{cite news |last1=Denselow |first1=Robin |title=Julie Fowlis review – 'Scottish Gaelic songs with clear, gently thrilling vocals' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/11/julie-fowlis-review |work=The Guardian |date=11 April 2014}}{{cite magazine |last1=McNally |first1=Dave |title=Live Review: Julie Fowlis (Celtic Connections) |url=https://klofmag.com/2024/01/live-review-julie-fowlis-celtic-connections/ |magazine=KLOF Magazine |date=30 January 2024}}

In 2010, Chris Colfer covered the song in the musical series Glee,{{Cite web |last=Rome |first=Emily |date=April 19, 2011 |title=Warblers 'Glee' Album: A Track-by-Track Account From the Beelzebubs |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/warblers-glee-album-a-track-179498/ |access-date=June 18, 2022 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}} which was included in the soundtrack album Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers. The version peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the song's highest placement on the chart until Beyoncé's 2024 cover.{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Hugh |date=April 15, 2024 |title=One Of The Beatles’ Most Famous Songs Reaches A New High On The Hot 100 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2024/04/15/one-of-the-beatles-most-famous-songs-reaches-a-new-high-on-the-hot-100/ |access-date=February 6, 2025 |website=Forbes |language=en}}

In 2015, Dave Grohl performed "Blackbird" during the 88th Academy Awards' "In Memoriam" segment.{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/dave-grohls-oscars-memoriam-performance-870675/|title=Oscars: Dave Grohl Performs Paul McCartney's 'Blackbird' for "In Memoriam"|first=Natalie|last=Stone|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=27 February 2016|access-date=6 September 2024}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Blackbiird

| cover =

| alt =

| type = Song

| artist = Beyoncé, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy

| album = Cowboy Carter

| released = March 29, 2024

| recorded =

| studio =

• East Iris (Nashville, TN){{cite AV media notes|title=Cowboy Carter|others=Beyoncé|year=2024|publisher=Columbia Records, Parkwood Entertainment}}
• Westlake (Hollywood, CA){{cite AV media notes|title=Cowboy Carter|others=Beyoncé|year=2024|publisher=Columbia Records, Parkwood Entertainment}}

| venue =

| genre = * Country pop

• R&B

| length = 2:11

| label = * Parkwood

• Columbia

| writer = Lennon–McCartney

| producer = * Beyoncé

• Paul McCartney
• Khirye Tyler
• Kuk Harrell

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|xhempeEjGUA|title="Blackbiird"}}|header=Lyric video|type=song}}

}}

American singer Beyoncé recorded a cover of "Blackbird", for her eighth studio album Cowboy Carter, titled "Blackbiird", featuring country singers Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy.{{Cite web |last=McClay |first=Caché |last2=K. Dowling |first2=Marcus |date=March 28, 2024 |title=Meet the quartet of Black country artists featured on Beyoncé's 'Blackbird' cover |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/03/28/beyonces-blackbird-cover-features-quartet-of-black-country-artists/73139835007/ |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=The Tennessean}} The cover received favorable reviews, both for the production and for the significance the new version takes on within Beyoncé's body of work.{{Cite web |last=Mahadevan |first=Tara |date=March 29, 2024 |title=Beyoncé’s Cover of the Beatles’ "Blackbird” on ‘Cowboy Carter’ Evokes Civil Rights Inspiration Behind Song |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/cmplxtara-mahadevan/beyonce-the-beatles-blackbird-cover-civil-rights |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=Complex}} It also became the version with the highest placement on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 27.

The version uses the original Beatles instrumental.{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2024/music/news/beyonce-beatles-blackbird-backing-track-paul-mccartney-cover-version-1235956618/|title=Beyoncé Used Original Beatles Backing Track for 'Blackbird' on New 'Cowboy Carter' Version, With Paul McCartney's Blessing|first1=Chris|last1=Willman|first2=Jem|last2=Aswad|magazine=Variety|date=April 2, 2024|access-date=April 3, 2024}} McCartney expressed admiration for Beyoncé's cover, stating: "I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place. I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!"{{cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |title=Paul McCartney 'So Happy' With Beyoncé's 'Magnificent' Version of 'Blackbird' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/paul-mccartney-beyonce-blackbird-magnificent-statement-1234999023/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=9 April 2024 |date=4 April 2024}}

Along with a cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene", "Blackbird" was critically acclaimed by music critics. The cover was appreciated both for its production and its placement as the second track after "American Requiiem", as it emphasizes the sense and narrative of Cowboy Carter's rediscovery of the African American country genre.{{Cite web |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |date=March 29, 2024 |title=This Moment to Arise: The Revisionary Genius of Beyoncé's 'Blackbird' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/beatles-beyonce-blackbird-1234996099/ |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=Rolling Stone}}{{Cite web |last=E. G. Perry |first=Kevin |date=March 29, 2024 |title=The powerful meaning behind Beyoncé’s Beatles cover on Cowboy Carter |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/beyonce-blackbird-beatles-paul-mccartney-b2520797.html |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=The Independent}}{{Cite web |last=Donovan |first=Thom |date=March 29, 2024 |title=The Meaning Behind The Beatles Cover "Blackbird" by Beyoncé on 'Cowboy Carter' |url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-behind-the-beatles-cover-blackbird-by-beyonce-on-cowboy-carter/ |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=American Songwriter}}{{Cite news |last=Kim |first=Juliana |date=April 2, 2024 |title=What The Beatles and Beyoncé's 'Blackbird' means to this Little Rock Nine member |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/04/02/1242106502/beyonce-beatles-blackbird-little-rock-nine |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}} Clare Thorp of BBC News pointed out that the decision to sing the song with four emerging African American female artists were "intentional" and makes the verse "You were only waiting for this moment to arise" a "significant moment" for the whole purpose of the album.{{Cite web |last=Thorp |first=Clare |date=March 29, 2024 |title=Cowboy Carter: Why Beyoncé's cover of The Beatles' Blackbird is the key to the new album |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240329-beyonce-cowboy-carter-the-beatles-blackbird |access-date=January 28, 2025 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}} Dave Simpson of The Guardian also wrote that despite the song was covered by other artists, Beyoncé's version "has a deep resonance: a spiritual interpretation" with "musicians who have struggled to gain a foothold in the notoriously gate-kept Nashville" and "appreciating the decision to reintroduce the song to the younger generation".{{Cite news |last=Simpson |first=Dave |date=March 29, 2024 |title=A new moment to arise: Beyoncé’s cover of the Beatles’ Blackbird is a timely masterstroke |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/29/a-new-moment-to-arise-beyonce-cover-of-the-beatles-blackbird-is-a-timely-masterstroke-cowboy-carter |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

At the 2024 People's Choice Country Awards the cover was nominated for The Cover Song of the Year.{{Cite web |last=Grein |first=Paul |date=August 14, 2024 |title=Zach Bryan, Beyoncé & More Lead 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards Nominations: Full List |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2024-peoples-choice-country-awards-nominations-list-zach-bryan-beyonce-1235752506/ |access-date=August 14, 2024 |website=Billboard}}

On December 25, 2024, Beyoncé, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy debuted "Blackbiird" live as part of her 2024 NFL Halftime Show set list.{{Cite web |last=McClay |first=Caché |date=December 25, 2024 |title=Beyoncé Bowl: See the setlist of the Ravens-Texans game halftime performance on Christmas |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/12/25/beyonce-bowl-set-list-christmas/77216004007/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241226061936/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/12/25/beyonce-bowl-set-list-christmas/77216004007/ |archive-date=December 26, 2024 |access-date=December 26, 2024 |website=USA Today |language=en-US}}

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{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Badman|first=Keith|title=The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001|publisher= Omnibus Press|location=London|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7119-8307-6}}
• {{cite book |last=Everett |first=Walter |year=1999 |title=The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology |location=New York, London |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-512941-0 }}
• {{cite web |last=Garcia |first=A. |date=5 December 2018 |title=Was Paul McCartney's Song 'Blackbird' Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement? |website=Snopes.com |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/blackbird-civil-rights/}}
• {{cite book |last=Lewisohn |first=Mark |year=1988 |author-link=Mark Lewisohn |title=The Beatles Recording Sessions |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0-517-57066-1 }}
• {{cite book|last=MacDonald| first=Ian| year=1998| title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties| publisher=Pimlico|location=London| isbn=978-0-7126-6697-8}}
• {{cite book|last1=Madinger|first1=Chip|last2=Easter|first2=Mark|title=Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium|publisher=44.1 Productions|location=Chesterfield, MO|year=2000|isbn=0-615-11724-4}}
• {{cite book

| last=Miles

| first=Barry

| year=1997

| author-link=Barry Miles

| title=Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now

| publisher=Henry Holt & Company

| location=New York, NY

| isbn=0-8050-5249-6

| url-access=registration

| url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile

}}

• {{cite book|last=Miles|first=Barry|title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years|year=2001|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|isbn=0-7119-8308-9}}
• {{cite news |date=27 May 2004 |title=The moment they've waited |work=Ludington Daily News |url=https://www.google.com/search?q=Ludington+Daily+News&safe=active}}{{dead link|date=April 2024}}
• {{cite book|last=Sounes|first=Howard|title=Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney|publisher=HarperCollins|location=London|year=2010|isbn=978-0-00-723705-0}}
• {{cite book| last=Turner| first=Steve| year=1999| title=A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song |edition=2nd| publisher=Carlton/HarperCollins|location=New York, NY| isbn=0-06-273698-1}}
• {{cite book|last= Womack |first= Kenneth |year= 2014 |title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA |isbn= 978-0-313-39171-2 }}

{{Wikiquote|The Beatles (album)}}

• [https://www.thebeatles.com/blackbird Full lyrics for the song at the Beatles' official website]
• {{Notes on|http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/b3.shtml}}
• {{YouTube|Man4Xw8Xypo|The Beatles "Blackbird"}}
• {{YouTube|BpWHJkEosAA|Paul McCartney explains aspects of "Blackbird"}}

{{The Beatles (White Album)}}

{{The Dandy Warhols}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackbird (Song)}}

Category:1968 songs

Category:The Beatles songs

Category:1960s ballads

Category:English folk songs

Category:Folk ballads

Category:Popular songs based on classical music

Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin

Category:Songs about birds

Category:Songs about racism and xenophobia

Category:Songs published by Northern Songs

Category:Songs written by Lennon–McCartney