1. Blackbird: Paul McCartney and The Beatles

2. The Civil Rights Movement
What do you know about the Civil Rights Movement?
The Civil Rights Movement lasted from approximately
In the United States, African- Americans were not treated equally or fairly
Which states were affected the most?
The southern states were most affected

3. What was segregation?
Segregation= separating people by their race, specifically separating African-Americans from Whites
Segregation included:
Schools
Water fountains
Movie theaters
Public buses
Restaurants
Subways
Servicemen (Army)
Sports
Segregation existed basically in every public place

4. What happened if an African-American “broke the color barrier” and sat in the “whites only” section of a bus or restaurant?
Arrested
Jailed
beaten
many people were murdered

5. What are some slang terms you know for women?
Chick
Momma
Lady
Toots
Honey-pie
Sweetie
Sugar

6. There’s another “slang” term for a woman you may not know…
Remember that the Beatles are a band from England…
In England they call women…
BIRDS!

8. So, what is the history of the song?
his song was written in 1965
Paul McCartney was in Birmingham, Alabama on tour
Birmingham, Alabama was nicknamed “Bombingham” because of all of the violence that erupted on a daily basis toward African-American homes and establishments
He was sitting on a park bench in town and saw a black woman arrested for sitting in the “whites only” section of a restaurant and decided to write this song

9. Let’s look at the meaning closely…
The song is about a blackbird LITERALLY
The blackbird has a broken wing, and it is unable to fly and therefore, it cannot be free
Notice the music…it mimics the sound of a bird taking flight; notice how it starts off low and rises
Notice that all you can hear is a man singing, a guitar strumming and a “tapping” sound

10. More meaning…
The tapping was originally Paul McCartney’s foot, but the chords of the guitar playing are complex- it is a style of playing called “finger picking”
Because it was so complex and difficult, the producer, George Martin decided to add in a tool called a metronome which is designed to keep time in a song and mimics the sound of foot tapping

11. Why is the foot tapping so important?
The Civil Rights activists could’ve fought back violently but they chose not to
They used peaceful, non-violent resistance to fight back
One example of this resistance was marching
The “foot tapping” sound of the metronome represents the thousands of men and women who marched for freedom…it stands for them saying “We will not be silent” and can he heard throughout the entire song as a reminder of the many who marched and wouldn’t give in or up

12. Symbolism
We know that the blackbird is literally about a blackbird…but symbolically it represents…
Blackbird= black woman
Why is her wing broken?
She has no civil rights
Because she has no civil rights, she cannot be free
The “dark, black night” represents the long struggle of the African-Americans for change and the Civil Rights movement which lasted for many, many years and in a way- still occurs today

13. waiting, singing, take and fly
Look at the lyrics…
“Blackbird” is multidimensional and purposely ambivalent
Ponder the adjectives (words that describe):
Dark, dead, broken, sunken and black (Pretty grim!) These adjectives are a symbol of the terrible things that happened to the African-Americans during this tumultuous time
Now ponder the verbs (words that represent actions):
waiting, singing, take and fly
These verbs are a symbol of the many positive actions that the African-Americans took in spite of being held back in their quest for freedom

14. The Words
Capping off the message are four of the most elevated words in the English language
Light
Life
Arise
Free

15. Now, listen again and read along
“Blackbird”
By: Lennon and McCartney
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
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark, black night.
Blackbird singing the dead of night

16. Something to think about…
“Rosa sat…so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so our children could fly.”