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Summary
Summary
The hardcover publication of Blackbird Singing, the first collection of Paul McCartney's poems and lyrics, was an international cultural event--celebrated in concert halls, at literary festivals, and in newspapers and magazines throughout the world. "While McCartney is of a completely different cast than Bob Dylan, his appeal may be even greater than that of the latter great poet-songwriter," wrote Publishers Weekly; The Guardian hailed McCartney's words as "a remarkable feat of historical imagination." The best-selling Blackbird Singing now includes several new poems and lyrics, including "Freedom," which McCartney performed in New York City at a benefit concert last fall. To actually read McCartney's poems, whether exuberant ballads of love or poignant messages of deepest grief, is to appreciate the electrifying power of the confluence of dream and song. Inspired by his late wife, Linda McCartney, Blackbird Singing gives us extraordinary access to the inner life of one of the most influential figures of our time.
Notes
Sir Paul McCartney is a poet and songwriter
Reviews (1)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Sir Paul McCartney painter, composer and songwriter (even the Queen taps her feet to "Penny Lane") has been steadily writing poetry along with the lyrics memorized by much of the world. British political poet and satirist Adrian Mitchell (who is well-known over there, and best represented by Heart on the Left: Selected Poems 1953-1984 over here) worked as a Daily Mail pop critic in 1963 and published the first national interview with the Beatles, remaining friends with McCartney since. In consultation with Sir Paul, he has selected from among McCartney's works. There are the grand and expected songs, such as "Hey Jude," "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby"; ditties like "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" and surreal oddities like "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window"; elegies for McCartney's wife, Linda Eastman McCartney, and for friend Ivan Vaughan; and a variety of verse, such as "To Find the Joy": "Seagulls spiral whirl/ Against the sullen oak/ No scientific thought informs/ Their madcap tribal swirl." As Mitchell writes: "Clean out your head. Wash out the name and the fame. Read these clear words and listen to them decide for yourself." (Apr. 23) Forecast: While McCartney is of a completely different cast than Bob Dylan, his appeal may be even greater than that of the latter great poet/songwriter. Expect strong and steady sales after a solid showing on bestseller lists. Mitchell's latest collection, All Shook Up: Poems 1997-2000, is due this month and includes "Gourmet Architecture, Troy, New York": "It might take a year or two/ But, with its cherry-red perfect bricks/ United by vanilla ice cement/ I could eat the Marine Midland Bank." (Bloodaxe [Dufour, dist.], $19.95 paper 128p ISBN 1-85224-513-1) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Table of Contents
Foreword | p. 13 |
Introduction | p. 15 |
I Playing at Home | |
In Liverpool | p. 23 |
Mist the Mind | p. 25 |
Figure of Eight | p. 26 |
Toy Store | p. 27 |
Heart of the Country | p. 28 |
Mull of Kintyre | p. 29 |
When I'm Sixty-Four | p. 30 |
Here Today (Song for John) | p. 32 |
Golden Earth Girl | p. 34 |
Maybe I'm Amazed | p. 35 |
II Yesterday | |
Yellow Submarine | p. 39 |
Dinner Tickets | p. 40 |
Once Upon a Long Ago | p. 41 |
She Came in through the Bathroom Window | p. 42 |
"Junk" | p. 43 |
Penny Lane | p. 44 |
"Ivan" | p. 46 |
The Long and Winding Road | p. 47 |
The Fool on the Hill | p. 48 |
This Is the Way | p. 50 |
Carry That Weight | p. 51 |
Hey Jude | p. 52 |
Yesterday | p. 54 |
III Friends and Enemies | |
Let 'Em In | p. 57 |
The Poet of Dumbwoman's Lane | p. 58 |
Day with George | p. 59 |
Fly by Night | p. 60 |
Jerk of All Jerks | p. 61 |
The Note You Never Wrote | p. 63 |
Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me) | p. 64 |
49th Fearless Sleep | p. 65 |
Masseuse Masseur | p. 66 |
Hot as That | p. 67 |
Little Willow | p. 68 |
IV The Business | |
Band on the Run | p. 73 |
Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll | p. 75 |
Back in the USSR | p. 76 |
Backwards Traveller | p. 78 |
Velvet Wave | p. 79 |
Why Don't We Do It in the Road? | p. 80 |
Helen Wheels | p. 81 |
Monkberry Moon Delight | p. 83 |
Black Vulcan | p. 85 |
Venus and Mars | p. 86 |
Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | p. 87 |
The Song We Were Singing | p. 88 |
V The World Tonight | |
The World Tonight | p. 91 |
Chasing the Cherry | p. 93 |
Was It Really Twenty Years Ago? | p. 96 |
Big Boys Bickering | p. 97 |
City Park | p. 98 |
Moon's a Mandarin | p. 100 |
Trouble Is | p. 101 |
A Billion Bees in the Borage | p. 102 |
Give the Man a Break | p. 103 |
Looking for Changes | p. 104 |
All Together Now | p. 106 |
VI All the Lonely People | |
She's Leaving Home | p. 109 |
Lady Madonna | p. 111 |
'Soily | p. 112 |
Maxwell's Silver Hammer | p. 113 |
Paperback Writer | p. 115 |
Not On | p. 116 |
Rocky Raccoon | p. 118 |
Lovely Rita | p. 120 |
Tchaico | p. 121 |
Junior's Farm | p. 122 |
Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da | p. 124 |
Wedding Invitation | p. 126 |
Flaming Pie | p. 128 |
Eleanor Rigby | p. 129 |
VII Standing Stone | |
Standing Stone | p. 133 |
VIII Home to Love | |
Flying to My Home | p. 145 |
Full Moon's Eve | p. 146 |
A Man with Children | p. 147 |
The Blue Shines Through | p. 148 |
Calico Skies | p. 149 |
Waterfalls | p. 150 |
Pictures in Song | p. 152 |
No Rhyme | p. 153 |
My Love | p. 154 |
IX Nova | |
Anti-Alarm Call | p. 157 |
Call It a Day | p. 158 |
Blessed | p. 159 |
Black Jacket | p. 160 |
Her Spirit | p. 161 |
Meditate | p. 162 |
To Find the Joy | p. 164 |
Irish Language | p. 165 |
Steel | p. 166 |
Rocking On! | p. 167 |
Dawn Star | p. 169 |
She Is... | p. 170 |
Lost | p. 171 |
To Be Said | p. 172 |
Nova | p. 173 |
Acknowledgments | p. 175 |
Index of Titles | p. 183 |