Did Beyoncé get permission to cover Blackbiird? Everything to know about Beatles' classic covered in Cowboy Carter

Blackbiird (with two 'i's) is the second song of Beyoncé's eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, and it got the official seal of approval from Paul McCartney himself.

In an Instagram post, the Beatles veteran called the song 'magnificent' and hoped that future generations would use it to settle racial tensions and end all forms of racism.

"Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud," wrote Paul McCartney in the caption.

The original iteration of the song was a solo performance by McCartney and was a part of the Beatles' The White Album that released in 1968. In the Cowboy Carter version, Beyoncé kept Paul's acoustic guitar and foot-tapping from the earlier version intact.

Paul McCartney revealed that Beyoncé got his permission and thanked him for letting her do it via Facetime.

"She thanked me for writing it and letting her do it. I told her the pleasure was all mine and I thought she had done a killer version of the song," explained McCartney. (via Variety)

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Beyoncé's Blackbiird has a deep societal connotation

Critics were extremely skeptical of Beyoncé when she entered the country music genre. In an Instagram post, Queen Bey explained that Cowboy Carter was born out of this encounter. It was a product of Beyoncé's not feeling welcome by the musical fraternity.

"But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive," explained the 2-year-old in the Instagram post.

At the very core, Cowboy Carter is a saga of struggle, and search for an identity amid chaos. The album's second song, BlackBiird, exemplifies this emotion perfectly. Beyoncé takes Paul McCartney's song and injects an undertone of black feminine energy, much like what she did with Jolene from the same album.

Emerging black female stars like Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Brittney Spencer also feature in the song and accentuate the theme it tries to bring forward.

In fact, McCartney's original song was written after he learned about nine black kids who were harassed by white children while enrolling and desegregating in Little Rock, Arkansas' Central High School in 1957.

"When I saw the footage on the television in the early 60s of the Black girls being turned away from school, I found it shocking and I can’t believe that still in these days there are places where this kind of thing is happening right now," explained McCartney in his Instagram post.

Additionally, the song bears the emotions of the millions of black women and their plight during the Civil War Movement. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer composed the song weeks after Martin Luther King's assassination.

In his 2021 book, The Lyrics, the 82-year-old explained that the line, "you were only waiting for this moment to arise" was a nod to the women of color in the Civil Rights Movement.

"The song was written only a few weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.," revealed Paul in his book.

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Little Rock Nine member elaborates on what Blackbiird means to her

Melba Pattillo Beals was only 15 years old when she was driven out of Little Rock Central High School along with eight other black girls. They were subject to intense verbal and physical harassment because of their complexion and escorted from the school by the 101st Airborne Division on their very first day of school.

67 years later, Beals is a retired reporter and the author of several books like March Forward, Girl, and Warriors Don't Cry. In an interview with NPR published on April 2, 2024, she talked about the song and it's significance in her life.

"This is the story of my life," commented Beals.

Beals especially lauded Beyoncé's efforts to resurrect the song's significance in the minds of the people by making Blackbiird.

"People ignored the song's meaning for a long time," Beals said. "But when the Queen B speaks, people will listen. And when people listen, they may open their minds to compassion about differences," commented Beals.

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The song reminded her of the black slaves of America who would use music as their coping mechanism to be able to endure the torture.

Beals was especially thankful to Paul and Beyoncé for converting her experience into a song because she had always wanted to write music about black Americans as a child. However, her mother wasn't supportive.

"As long as there is a single individual on the planet who is not free, then none of us are free."

Beals concluded by saying that she hoped people would remember the struggles faced by millions during the Civil Rights Movement and be motivated to work toward equality.