Paul McCartney – ‘Blackbird’ Live at Glastonbury!
Take these broken wings and learn to fly…
As The Beatles matured, so did their lyrics. With ‘Blackbird’, they went from ‘yeah yeah yeah’s’ to songs about the Civil Rights Movement, both angered and profoundly saddened by the racial strife occurring in the United States. Purposely symbolic, Paul McCartney later explained the song:
“I got the idea of using a blackbird as a symbol for a black person. It wasn’t necessarily a black ‘bird’, but it works that way, as much as then you called girls ‘birds’. ‘Take these broken wings’ was very much in my mind, but it wasn’t exactly an ornithological ditty; it was purposely symbolic.”
They say if you want someone’s attention, speak quietly or whisper. ‘Blackbird’ has that kind of power; simple and unadorned, yet reaches deeply into one’s subconscious.
This live rendition of ‘Blackbird’ performed at Glastonbury is exactly that – simple and unadorned, yet it’s one that will definitely shake you to your core!
+ Blackbird lyrics +
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.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free.
Blackbird fly Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
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
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
