Blackbird tab by The Beatles

Guitar tabs

Title:     Blackbird
Composers: John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Group:     The Beatles


Note timing changes throughout.

  #1                          #2
  3/4 G+G       Am7Am7     G+G       4/4 G+G
E{|---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
B{|---0-------1-------3-------|---12----12--12----12----12--12----|
G{|-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D{|---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A{|-----------0-------2-------|---10------10------10------10------|
E{|---3-----------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .

  3/4 G+G       Am7Am7     G+G       4/4 G+G
E MajorE||---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB||---0-------1-------3-------|---12----12--12----12----12--12----|
G+G||.------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD||.--------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA||-----------0-------2-------|---10------10------10------10------|
E MajorE||---3-----------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
   1. Blackbird singing ...
   2. Blackbird singing ...


  #5
      C majorC       A7A7      D7D7      B7B7          E minorEm              C minorCm
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---5-------8-------7-------10------|---8-----8---8-----8-----8---8-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---3-------4-------5-------6-------|---7-------7-------6-------6-------|
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      Take these broken ...
      Take these sunken ...

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  #7
  3/2 G+G       A7A7      Am7Am7              C minorCm
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|
BB |---7-------8-------5-----5---5------4-----4---4-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0--------0-------0---|
D MajorD |----------------------------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---5-------4-------3-------3--------3-------3-------|
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|
      +       .       +       .        +       .
      All     your    ...
      All     your    ...


  #8
      G+G               A7A7               Am7Am7     D7D7
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|
BB |---3-----3---3-----2-----2---2------1-----1---1-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0--------0-------0---|
D MajorD |------------------------------------0-------0-------|
A augmentedA |---2-------2-------0-------0------------------------|
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|
      +       .       +       .        +       .
     You were only  ...
     You were only  ...


-----------------------------------------------------------------------...
  |  1.
  #9
  4/4 G+G               C majorC       G+G           A7A7              D7(Am7Am7)
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---0-----0---0-----5-------3-------|---2-----2---2-----1-----1---1-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-------------------0-------0-------|
A augmentedA |-------------------3-------2-------|---0-------0-----------------------|
E MajorE |---3-------3-----------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      rise.

  ... -----------------  -------------------
                       ||  2.               |
  #11                  ||                   |
  2/2 G+G
E MajorE |--------------------||-------------------|
BB |---0-----0---0------||---0-----0---0-----|
G+G |-------0-------0---.||-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-------------------.||-------------------|
A augmentedA |--------------------||-------------------|
E MajorE |---3-------3--------||---3-------3-------|
      +   .   +   .         +   .   +   .
                             free.

  #13
  4/4 FF       E minorEm      DmDm      C majorC           Bb majorBb              C majorC
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---10------8-------6-------5-------|---3-----3---3-----5-----5---5-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---8-------7-------5-------3-------|---1-------1-------3-------3-------|
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      Black     -     ...


  #15
  4/4 FF       E minorEm      DmDm      C majorC           Bb majorBb              A7A7
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---10------8-------6-------5-------|---3-----3---3-----2-----2---2-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---8-------7-------5-------3-------|---1-------1-------0-------0-------|
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      Black     -     bird...

  #17
  2/4 D7(Am7Am7)
E MajorE |----------------------|
BB |---1-----1---1----1---|
G+G |-------0-------0------|
D MajorD |---0-------0----------|
A augmentedA |----------------------|
E MajorE |----------------------|
      +   .   +   .
      light ...

  #18
  3/4 G+G       Am7Am7     G+G       4/4 G+G
E MajorE |---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---0-------1-------3-------|---12----12--12----12----12--12----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |-----------0-------2-------|---10------10------10------10------|
E MajorE |---3-----------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      night.


  #20
      C majorC       A7A7      D7D7      B7B7          E minorEm              C minorCm
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---5-------8-------7-------10------|---8-----8---8-----8-----8---8-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---3-------7-------5-------9-------|---7-------7-------6-------6-------|
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .


  #22
  3/2 G+G       A7A7      Am7Am7              C minorCm
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|
BB |---7-------8-------5-----5---5------4-----4---4-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0--------0-------0---|
D MajorD |----------------------------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---5-------4-------3-------3--------3-------3-------|
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|
      +       .       +       .        +       .


  #23                                                  #24
      G+G               A7A7               D7(Am7Am7)         2/4 G+G
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|---------------|
BB |---3-----3---3-----2-----2---2------1-----1---1-----|---0-----------|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0--------0-------0---|---0-----------|
D MajorD |------------------------------------0-------0-------|---------------|
A augmentedA |---2-------2-------0-------0------------------------|---------------|
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|---3-----------|
      +       .       +       .        +       .           +       .


  #25
  4/4 FF       E minorEm      DmDm      C majorC           Bb majorBb              C majorC
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---10------8-------6-------5-------|---3-----3---3-----5-----5---5-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---8-------7-------5-------3-------|---1-------1-------3-------3-------|
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      Black     -     ...

  #27
  4/4 FF       E minorEm      DmDm      C majorC           Bb majorBb              A7A7
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---10------8-------6-------5-------|---3-----3---3-----2-----2---2-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---8-------7-------5-------3-------|---1-------1-------0-------0-------|
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      Black     -     ...

  #29
  2/4 D7(Am7Am7)
E MajorE |----------------------|
BB |---1-----1---1----1---|
G+G |-------0-------0------|
D MajorD |---0-------0----------|
A augmentedA |----------------------|
E MajorE |----------------------|
      +   .   +   .
    light of a ...


  #30
  3/4 G+G       Am7Am7     G+G       4/4 G+G
E MajorE |---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---0-------1-------3-------|---12----12--12----12----12--12----|
G+G |---------------------------|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |-----------0-------2-------|-----------------------------------|
E MajorE |---3-----------------------|---10------10------10------10------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      night.


 #31
      G+G
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---12----12--12----12----12--12----|---12----12--12----12--------------|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0---0---------------|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---10------10------10------10------|---10------10------10--------------|
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
                                molto rit.


  #34
  3/4    G+G       Am7Am7     G+G       3/4 C majorC       G+G       A7A7
E MajorE||------------------------------|---------------------------|
BB||------0-------1-------3-------|---5-------3-------2-------|
G+G||----------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD||------------------------------|---------------------------|
A augmentedA||--------------0-------2-------|---3-------2-------0-------|
E MajorE||---10\3-----------------------|---------------------------|
          +   .   +   .   +   .      +   .   +   .   +   .
 slide down
        a tempo


  #36
  2/4 Am7/D
E MajorE |------------------|
BB |--1-----1---1-----|
G+G |------0-------0---|
D MajorD |--0-------0-------|
A augmentedA |------------------|
E MajorE |------------------|
     +   .   +   .

  #37
  3/4 G+G       Am7Am7     G+G       4/4 G+G
E MajorE||---------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB||---0-------1-------3-------|---12----12--12----12----12--12----|
G+G||.------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD||.--------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA||-----------0-------2-------|---10------10------10------10------|
E MajorE||---3-----------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
    Blackbird singing ...
  #39
      C majorC       A7A7      D7D7      B7B7          E minorEm              C minorCm
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
BB |---5-------8-------7-------10------|---8-----8---8-----8-----8---8-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|
D MajorD |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---3-------7-------5-------9-------|---7-------7-------6-------6-------|
E MajorE |-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
      Take these ...


  #41
  3/2 G+G       A7A7      Am7Am7              C minorCm
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|
BB |---7-------8-------5-----5---5------4-----4---4-----|
G+G |-------0-------0-------0-------0--------0-------0---|
D MajorD |----------------------------------------------------|
A augmentedA |---5-------4-------3-------3--------3-------3-------|
E MajorE |----------------------------------------------------|
      +       .       +       .        +       .
      All     ...


  #42
  4/4 G+G               A7A7                  Am7Am7             G+G
E MajorE||-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------||
BB||---3-----3---3-----2-----2---2-----|---1-----1---1-----0---------------||
G+G||.------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0---0--------------.||
D MajorD||.----------------------------------|---0-------0----------------------.||
A augmentedA||---2-------2-------0-------0-------|-----------------------------------||
E MajorE||-----------------------------------|-------------------3---------------||
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
     You were only   ...

  #44
      C majorC       G+G       A7A7                  Am7Am7     D7D7      G+G
E MajorE
|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------||}
BB
|---5-------3-------2-----2---2-----|---1-----1---1-----3---------------||}
G+G
|-------0-------0-------0-------0---|-------0-------0---0---------------||}
D MajorD
|-----------------------------------|---0-------0-------0---------------||}
A augmentedA
|---3-------2-------0-------0-------|-----------------------------------||}
E MajorE
|-----------------------------------|-------------------3---------------||}
      +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .       +   .   +   .   +   .   +   .
     You were only   ...

Blackbird tab

Blackbird was recorded June 1968 in EMI Studios and is a solo performance by Paul McCartney. The song is in the G, with bass and guitar progressing mostly in parallel. You can see this is the Beatles Blackbird tabs below. McCartney used a Martin D 28 acoustic guitar for the song.

The song is a good finger exercise as it is played with a special McCartney combination of picking and finger-strumming The bass notes are always played by the thumb on the downbeat. Keep this in mind when playing these Beatles Blackbird guitar tabs. Paul wrote the song in 1968 while he was in Scotland. It is not about birds but about racial tensions escalating in USA at the time. Paul later told that the guitar accompaniment was inspired by J.S. Bach's Bourrée in E minor, a piece he and George Harrison learned as kids. The song was first released on their White album

Other versions of Blackbird