In my view, “Blackbird,” a Beatles song written by Paul McCartney and released on the Beatles’ “White Album” in November, 1968, is one of his finest works. Here we see him rehearsing it in the the EMI’s Abbey Road Studios on the very day it was recorded: June 11, 1968. (The released version is here.)
A few notes on the song from Wikipedia:
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.
The first night his future wife Linda Eastman stayed at his home, McCartney played “Blackbird” for the fans camped outside his house.
. . . Since composing “Blackbird” in 1968, McCartney has given various statements regarding both his inspiration for the song and its meaning. 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 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.
You can listen to Bach’s Bourré here, but for the life of me I can’t hear the germ of “Blackbird” in it.
The sound is off at the beginning but starts 16 seconds in. There are a few other breaks in the sound.
It’s clear that the song was tweaked right up to the end, including the tempo, the pause, and the raising of the voice on the word “life” halfway into the song.
The guy speaking to John and Paul is of course George Martin, who contributed so much to the greatness of the group’s songs. Notice that Paul breaks into other songs from time to time, including Helter Skelter and Mother Nature’s Son, both also on the White Album. At about 6:15, Lennon tunes his guitar to McCartney’s, as if wanting to accompany him on Blackbird. But no accompaniment was needed.
Check out Macca’s shoes! The woman sitting in the corner and then next to McCartney is identified by a commenter:
This is McCartney at the apogee of his powers. The song is a work of genius. In all my life I will never figure out where the ability to produce songs like this comes from. All I can guess is that there’s a kind of neuronal wiring in such people that can turn thoughts into wonderful music.
You can watch this video: https://youtu.be/7UWkn55ByGM and see what part of the chord progression Sir Paul adapted from Bouree in E minor. You can hear it in the 4-chord intro to Blackbird, and it is more obvious AFTER seeing the video above.
As both a fan of McC and JSB, I also learned the Bouree in college (in the 70s), I also learned both. Fingers still remember bits of it.
The song is a masterpiece. If I were to draw up a Top Ten list of my favorite McCartney-led Beatles songs, it would be on the list along with “For No One” and “Penny Lane” and… Don’t get me started!
It is a marvel…and I too have been on a For No One kick lately. The other day you mentioned your favorite Paul albums (Ram, Band…, and Chaos…). These are my top three as well, though I’d put Chaos as the best solo album of all The Beatles. I’d also give Tug of War an honorable mention.
“You can listen to Bach’s Bourré here, but for the life of me I can’t hear the germ of ‘Blackbird’ in it.”
But you can certainly hear Jethro Tull.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pqxwXla3-Bw&t=1s&pp=2AEBkAIB
Of course, Ian Anderson and Tull played it pretty straight (with sycopation and variations).
Years ago whenever I played ‘Blackbird’ in the house, the cat’s ears and head would perk whenever the bird call comes later in the song like he thought something just flew in.
I guess out of all of the band’s discography, this has to be the most cat friendly song of them.
Thanks for posting this. One of my favorite songs.
I’ve played Blackbird on the guitar for >25 years. It is a great song. I play it nearly every time I pick up a guitar.
My understanding of the parallel with the Bach Bourrée in Em (which I also used to play on the guitar; it’s no longer under my fingers) is the intervals between the bass and melody notes throughout the song, which are 10ths and 11ths intervals. Also, throughout Blackbird (but not the Bourrée), there is an open G drone note played on the G string with the index finger on the up-beats (quarter note timing on the up-beats).
The melody notes and bass notes are “pinched” with the thumb and middle finger (melody all on the B and high e strings) and then the G-drone is picked on the off beats with the index finger.
I too struggle to see the real parallels. I think of it more as “inspired by” rather than directly related to. I’m amazed at how McCartney came up with the syncopated 1/8-note rhythm he uses through much of the song.
The beginning of “Blackbird” (before the voice enters) is parallel 10ths. “Bouree” doesn’t use parallel intervals; the two lines are in contrary motion. So there’s no connection between them (don’t feel bad that you don’t hear it, PCC(E) because it’s not really there) except for (1) whatever McCartney imagined in his head, and thank goodness he did, and (2) the great counterpoint in Blackbird, in the guitar part, starting with “take these broken wings,” which certainly recalls Bach in general but not “Bouree” in particular.
I love seeing creative people at work as in this video, when they are not performing to the camera. I liked the very first version he played better than the others, sometimes less polished is better. It is like a painter who goes around drawing or painting in a sketchpad, as references for some planned and well-polished oil painting. Quite often (especially in botanical art) the field sketches are far more wonderful than the finished work. For example see Margaret Mee’s botanical art.
I love the way Paul keeps anxiously looking back at George Martin for approval as he sings. I’ve never seen this expression in him. He usually exudes self-confidence. It is a testament to the importance of Martin in the Beatles’ music.
Creativity is fascinating. I don’t understand its relationship with determinism.