Now that it’s been a few days since Beyoncé dropped Cowboy Carter, it has been confirmed to Variety that she got permission to use The Beatles’ original backing track of “Blackbird” for her cover spin (called “Blackbiird“) that’s on the album.
Although Paul McCartney was listed on the credits for playing guitar and being a producer, many listeners had been wondering if Bey was able to incorporate the one from 1968. As he is credited as the main writer on the Beatles song, he likely was the one who gave her the green light to use it.
McCartney previously discussed in a 2018 interview for GQ about how he wrote the song during the Civil Rights Movement. “I just thought it’d be really good if I could write something that if it ever reached any of the people going through those problems, it might kind of give them a little bit of hope,” he said.
“In England, a ‘bird’ is a girl,” McCartney added. “So I was thinking of a Black girl going through this, you know, now’s your time to arise and set yourself free. Take these broken wings.”
For Beyoncé’s version, she brought along Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts, and Brittney Spencer to sing on the track — giving it an added layer of meaning and emotion.
Check out Beyoncé’s “Blackbiird” above.
Cowboy Carter is out now via Parkwood/Columbia. Find more information here.
