All the way to the Paul McCartney concert in Vancouver BC last week, my family listened to old Beatles and Wings songs in the car. That was when it occurred to me that this one person has the song catalogue of a thousand of us menial songwriters out there, and not only that, but SO MANY of them were hits and became classics over almost six decades of writing and performing. And even beyond that, at the age of 70 he can still go out there and outperform even the youngest and spryest of artists and bands. The guy barely stopped for a full 3 hours. He continually and genuinely appreciated and acknowledged each and every one of the 40,000 or so of us there who were equally as thrilled to see him come to Vancouver for the first time since 1963. It was an epic and unforgettable experience.
On Sunday, Nov.25th, I finally saw a Beatle. Now, for me, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience because I have been listening to the music of the Beatles since I was six years old, when the Beatles first arrived in North America, physically and musically. Paul McCartney returned to Vancouver BC for the first time in 48 years, and I and my family knew that this might be our last chance to see him here, since he'd only been here once before in 1964! Who knows if he'll ever make it this way again?
His concert was fantastic; for a 70-year-old to be able to play 3 straight hours with only taking a moment to have a sip of water here and there was amazing enough, but he had twice the talent and charm of many of his younger counterparts and his performance was impeccable. And all done with no autotune, all live and completely real! Try to do that for three hours you young bucks!
I'll never forget that evening. Thanks Paul.
So I've decided to talk about one of his songs, one that I've been playing for years (incorrectly, by the way!) and one that he says he gets nervous playing because so many others play it and would know if he made a mistake! That song is Blackbird.
One of the things I didn't know about the song was the story behind it, which he told on Sunday night. It was written during the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., and McCartney's intention in writing it was to encourage the black population in their quest for freedom, equality and tolerance. It gave the lyrics a whole new meaning for me and I will be sure to tell that story every time I teach it in future. I always get requests from my students to learn Blackbird, which proves its continual appeal and popularity. In fact, the other day I sat with a student as she showed me how she had taught herself most of it, not having any idea where it came from or who wrote it, but simply having heard a friend of hers playing it. I was happy to tell her all about it, and how I'd just heard the writer perform the song himself :-)
It is a simple song, comprised of three verses and a bridge which is repeated and often considered as a chorus. I really don't think it's a chorus...somehow, musically it just feels more like it plays the part of a bridge in the song. If I had a chance to ask Paul how he thinks of it, I would!
Now, onto the lyrics:
Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these sunken eyes and learn to see All your life You were only waiting for this moment to be free
BRIDGE: Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night
[instrumental verse]
BRIDGE: Blackbird fly, blackbird fly Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird singing in the dead of night Take these broken wings and learn to fly All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Do you see what I mean? Very, very simple lyrically, but when you couple it with its meaning and its purpose, it is very powerful.
The guitar in it is equally as sweet, sounding simple, but it's not a beginner's song by any means because it means travelling up the neck to the 10th and 12th frets and back down again. In fact, it uses almost the entire fret range of an acoustic guitar. The beauty of it, though, is that you could play it by itself and it would still be a great instrumental, and as soon as you start playing it, people know what it is. I've always finger picked it, but Paul actually does a bass note pick with a little strum instead. The arrangement consists only of the guitar, his vocal (occasionally doubled) and one simple beat in the background. The true sign of a great song is when it needs nothing more than that!
Paul has written many, many wonderful songs over the years and performed a lot of them on Sunday night. It was a beautiful experience for me to hear them live for the first time and to see this master songwriter in the flesh, just as charming and wonderful as ever.
Have a listen to the song below. It doesn't get any better than that! ~ IJ
I discovered Shawn Colvin in the early 90's when I myself was out performing quite a bit. I remember listening to her CD "Fat City" at first because a friend of mine thought we had similar voices, and I played it in my car as I was travelling around. The fact that my friend thought our voices were alike was a compliment, of course, because Shawn is a far better vocalist than I'll ever be. But beyond that, I fell in love with her songs long before "Sunny Came Home" was a hit.
I was in my 40's then, and you know what they say about ladies in the 40's. Okay, if you don't, then look it up :-) And when I first really listened to "Set The Prairie On Fire", it pretty much blew me away. It was not the first or second listen, I'm sure, but as I heard it again and again, the lyrics found their way into my psyche and it became like a slow, seductive reveal.
Shawn is a great guitar player and I love her percussive flatpicking, and this song and its accompanying recording really demonstrates her playing ability. The chords jump from what I think is an Am to G, back and forth in the verses, but the way she plays them keeps the repeated chord progression hard driving and never boring! It's a slow song, with a wailing organ snaking its way all throughout, giving it a lonely, longing feeling which compliments the lyrics perfectly. It feels like a prairie, it feels wide open and wanting.
Full full moon and that same sad nature I wanna cover every inch of you Like ink on paper Like the blind parade of souls Consumed by religion I can't wait 'til I get you In that defenseless position
CHORUS: When we set the prairie on fire Oh we go down to the water Naked and slow You and me And the heart of desire We set the prairie on fire How hard will the wind blow How far will it go
When the feeling burns down To one solitary colour The velocity of longing Melting into each other It's a song our fingers play All at once and together You can bet we never learned it But we've known it forever
Oh I dreamed that we were flying Carried up from the ashes Black silhouettes of velvet Against the crimson of passion We can almost hear the echoes From the smouldering meadow It's the rapture of the angels And the rage of the devil
[REPEAT CHORUS]
BRIDGE:
In the cool dusk of horses Through the rusted wires of sleep With our arms around midnight We're headed for release We go riding in the wind We go riding in the dark Go riding, riding
[REPEAT CHORUS]
Read along with the lyrics as you listen to one of my favourite songs by Shawn Colvin available in the video below. Sigh...
