Paul McCartney has praised the “killer version” of The Beatles’ Blackbird contained in Beyoncé‘s album Cowboy Carter. “She interpreted it beautifully, reinforcing the civil rights message that inspired me when I composed it,” Macca writes on Instagram. “I think Beyoncé did a fabulous version, and I invite anyone who hasn’t listened to it yet to do so; you’ll fall in love with it!”
“We spoke on FaceTime, and she thanked me for writing it and for allowing her to do it. I replied that the pleasure is all mine and that she did a killer version.”
McCartney then recalled the origins of the piece. “In the early ’60s, I saw on TV footage of black girls being turned away from a school; it was shocking, I can’t believe that there are still places where such things happen today. It would be great and it would make me proud if my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version could help alleviate racial tensions.”
It has also been learned through Variety that in producing the cover, titled Blackbiird with two i’s, Beyoncé used two elements taken from The Beatles’ original 1968 recording, all obviously with McCartney’s consent: Macca’s acoustic guitar part and the sound of the foot tapping the beat.