Blackbird Singing : Poems and Lyrics, 1965-1999 (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It is nearly impossible to scan any of Paul McCartney's lyrics without hearing the Beatles' music in the background, dictating rhythm, pace, and mood. But as Blackbird Singing demonstrates, the effort is worth making. This first collection brings together early and late poems, along with some of Sir Paul's greatest hits (including the words to "Yesterday," "Lady Madonna," "Penny Lane," and "Hey Jude.") In his introduction, editor and fellow Liverpudlian Adrian Mitchell urges readers to "wash out the name and the fame" and examine what's on the page. If you can do this, you're in for a pleasant surprise.

True, some of the lyrics appear trite on paper--"Heart of the Country" and "Mull of Kintyre" are notable offenders. Even "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" seems naked and frail without the rousing brass section. But McCartney's deeper vulnerability comes to the surface in "Dinner Tickets," a poem about his childhood. And "Standing Stone" recounts a gutsy fable about a man using the power of imagination to fend off the enemy: he erects a standing stone, "a weathered finger to the sky" and learns to be "at peace with peace." "Irish Language" boasts a rare streak of irony as the narrator admires the way "those Irish chappies" swill the language around in their mouths and dribble it through their fingers. The song ends with a beautifully timed punch line: "The Beatles were a bunch of Micks." Blackbird Singing closes with poems dedicated to the author's late wife that are tender, sparse, and startlingly honest. --Cherry Smyth

From Publishers Weekly

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.
-, $19.95 paper 128p ISBN 1-85224-513-1)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 185 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.; 1s t American Editon edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393020495
• ISBN-13: 978-0393020496
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #631,880 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars finally--the words, April 16, 2001

By A Customer

Paul McCartney writes the best melodies since Schubert. But I've always liked his words. There are striking little images everywhere--"like being caught in a tape loop in a big dance hall," "long live all of us crazy soldiers who were born under calico skies," "the rain exploded with a mighty crash as we fell into the sun," etc., etc. I'm usually so caught up in the music I don't pay attention to the words. It's nice to have them in front of so I can catch the clever and unique twists McCartney gives to words. He's sort of a combination of Blake, Lewis Carroll, and e. e. cummings. But even after I read his magical, mysterious words, I want to go put on one of his albums so I can hear the music that goes along with them.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, April 21, 2001

By A Customer

I must say, I wasn't expecting much, but Paul McCartney actually writes some excellent poetry. Of course the song lyrics are fun. But the poetry really reads like quality contemporary poetry that you might read in the PARIS REVIEW, or THE NEW YORKER. His paintings were so bad in his book of paintings last year, my expectations were low for this foray into poetry. But he did a good job. My hat is off to Sir Paul.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars COURAGEOUS SOUL, March 20, 2002

By	Patricia (Roseburg, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews

Sir Paul continues to fascinate by his ethereally intrinsic usage of everyday English language in the attainment of exploring the emotions and varied experiences of all human beings. I only wish he had published this incredible insight many moons ago. Paul was obviously not at the place in his life where he was so radiantly willing to share his profoundly personal develing of his particular valleys and mountains. I felt intrigued and at moments, uncomfortable with being so wonderfully privy to such intimate observations and experiences, but I have been enlightened, inspired, and changed just the same.
I personally chose Paul's volume to grace my Library's shelf (both at the library inwhich I oversee and my own personal library in my home) and am delighted to have it available whenever I am in need of inspiration, both personally and professionally. Paul may have intended this as a work for his own personal artistic endeavour, but I suspect "Blackbird Singing" has become a spiritual tome for numerous other poets and lyricists alike (both of the "closet" and "out-of-the-closet" variety, of which I am the former!). I graciously wish to extend a "thank you" to you Paul for your being an exceedingly courageous soul to have scribed "Blackbird Singing" for posterity's sake. (I admire and envy what you and Linda shared for those three decades. Inspiration, indeed.)