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Paul McCartney praises Beyoncé's 'Blackbird' cover, says it 'reinforces' song's civil rights message

Paul McCartney has nothing but praise for Beyoncé's cover of the Beatles' 'Blackbird' on 'Cowboy Carter': 'It reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place.'

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. It's one of numerous Cowboy Carter tracks that pays homage to seminal figures in country, rock, soul, and pop history: "American Requiem" credits Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield as a writer (presumably due to its similarity to "For What It's Worth"), "Ya Ya" features a sample of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" and an interpolation of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," and of course "Jolene" is a reworking of Dolly Parton's classic song of the same name. The album's interludes also feature snippets of songs by Chuck Berry, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Son House, and Roy Hamilton, as well as spoken-word segments from Linda Martell, Willie Nelson, and Parton.

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