Sir Paul McCartney is sharing his thoughts on Beyoncé covering his iconic 1968 song, "Blackbird" on her latest album, Cowboy Carter.
In a moving post on Instagram, The Beatles legend shared a black-and-white photo of himself alongside Queen Bey, as well as a lengthy caption describing how he feels about Beyoncé's latest rendition of the song.
"I am so happy with @beyonce’s version of my song ‘Blackbird’. I think she does a magnificent version of it and it reinforces the civil rights message that inspired me to write the song in the first place," McCartney wrote. "I think Beyoncé has done a fab version and would urge anyone who has not heard it yet to check it out. You are going to love it!"
The singer also revealed that he spoke to Beyoncé "on FaceTime" and that 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," he added.
In the same post, McCartney revealed the inspiration behind the hit song.
"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," he explained. "Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud."
"Blackbird" was famously written about the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine Black teenagers who faced discrimination in 1957 after they enrolled in Little Rock's Central High School, a formerly all-white school that was desegregated after the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case.
Prior to releasing her country album, Queen Bey explained that she was inspired to create Cowboy Carter after an unspecified incident that occurred "years ago."
"This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed...and it was very clear that I wasn't," she explained in an Instagram post. "But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history."
Beyoncé went on to say that the "criticisms" she experienced when she "first entered this genre" created a situation in which she was "forced" to "propel past the limitations that were put on me."
"I have a few surprises on the album, and have collaborated with some brilliant artists who I deeply respect. I hope that you can hear my heart and soul, and all the love and passion that I poured into every detail and every sound. I focused on this album as a continuation of RENAISSANCE," she continued. "I hope this music is an experience, creating another journey where you can close your eyes, start from the beginning and never stop. This ain’t a Country album. This is a “Beyoncé” album. This is act ii COWBOY CARTER, and I am proud to share it with y’all!"
