Paul McCartney took to Instagram to share his rave review of Beyoncé's cover of his song "Blackbird" from her new Cowboy Carter album.
McCartney, who wrote the song in 1968 amid the civil rights movement of the '60s, not only gushed over the singer's rendition of his tune but also acknowledged Beyoncé's trailblazing in both country music and fight for social justice.
Accompanying a photo of him and Beyoncé followed by Cowboy Carter's album art, he wrote:
"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."
"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!"
He continued that having Beyoncé cover the song, especially given its civil rights roots, makes him "very proud."
"I spoke to her on FaceTime and 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."
"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."
"Anything my song and Beyoncé’s fabulous version can do to ease racial tension would be a great thing and makes me very proud."
Viewers of Sir McCartney's post expressed the magnitude of such recognition coming from the icon himself.
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
And others agreed with him that Beyoncé's version of his song is "magnificent."
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
@paulmccartney/Instagram
In her own recent Instagram post, Beyoncé revealed Cowboy Carter was similarly born out of a place of unacceptance and intolerance, which many believe was in reference to the 2016 Country Music Awards where she performed her country pop song "Daddy Lessons" alongside The Chicks.
People watching at home apparently did not feel Beyoncé deserved to be on the stage and used their racist rhetoric to spread the idea that a Black woman should not have been showcased on a country music platform.
The 32-time Grammy winner wrote in her post:
"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."
"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."
You can listen to "Blackbird" below.
BLACKBIIRD (Official Lyric Video)youtu.be
