McCaslin got her start in the mid-1960s at the Troubadour Club in West Hollywood, California, performing at its Monday Night Hoots (as the club’s open-mic nights were known). She recorded primarily for Philo Records, and traveled and performed with her husband, Arkansas folk singer Jim Ringer.
McCaslin represented an unbroken link between traditional American folksingers and contemporary "new folk" singer-songwriters. Known for her songs about the West, its landscape, and its outlaws as well as her insightful songs about relationships, McCaslin was an influential musician. For many years before her current solo career, she toured with her husband, Arkansas folk singer Jim Ringer.
McCaslin was a pioneer of open tunings, using them long before they gained their full popularity. In addition to her flawless fingerpicking style on the guitar, she also played "clawhammer" banjo using it to great (and unique) effect on such unlikely songs as "Blackbird" and "Pinball Wizard." These and other personalized arrangements of popular songs consistently added to her appeal.
In April of 1994 Philo / Rounder released "Broken Promises" , her first recording of new material since 1980. She released three further albums.
Her songs have been recorded by Tom Russell, Bill Staines, Gretchen Peters, David Bromberg, Kate Wolf, Stan Rogers, and Còig.
Blackbird
Mary McCaslin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.
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
Mary McCaslin's song "Blackbird" is a masterpiece that beautifully captures human emotions of hope, determination, and freedom. The lyrics are simple but meaningful and address a blackbird, who appears to be struggling in the dead of the night with its broken wings and sunken eyes. The persona encourages the bird to rise and learn how to fly again, and although it may have waited its whole life for this moment, it is never too late to start.
The bird is used as a metaphor throughout the song, representing any individual who has faced setbacks in life, yet perseveres to overcome adversity. The words "All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise" suggest that everyone has a moment in their life where they can take control and transform their situation. The blackbird's wings are broken, and its eyes are sunken, but the song is optimistic in the end, calling for the bird to fly into the light of the dark black night, to show that there is always hope, even in the darkest of times.
Overall, "Blackbird" is much more than a simple song about a bird. It speaks to the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity and achieve greatness, even when it seems impossible. It encourages people to never give up, and always believe that this moment can arise.
Line by Line Meaning
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
The blackbird sings in the middle of the night, when everything is quiet and still.
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
Take these wings that are no longer perfect, and learn to use them to soar through the sky.
All your life
Throughout your entire existence.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You've been waiting for this moment to come, and finally it's here.
Black bird singing in the dead of night
The blackbird sings in the middle of the night, when everything is quiet and still.
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
Take these eyes that have lost their sparkle, and learn to see the beauty of the world again.
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
You've been waiting for this moment to come, so you can finally be free from whatever is holding you back.
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly
Blackbird, take flight and soar.
Into the light of the dark black night.
Fly into the darkness of the night, and find the light that is hidden within it.
All your life
Throughout your entire existence.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You've been waiting for this moment to come, and finally it's here.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You've been waiting for this moment to come, and finally it's here.
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You've been waiting for this moment to come, and finally it's here.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jim Brown
on The California Zephyr
Sunrise lights the city
Where once stood a small tienda
And stucco all the tales could tell
For all that we had gained
But here and there stands a grand adobe hacienda
Now and then a graveyard filled
with Spanish sounding names
The highways cut the trees down
And the outlaws stole the land
And the California Zephyr lies a sleeping
And we’re told that days are numbered
Till we lose the giant redwoods
And you can almost hear the earth beneath you weaping
But when you’re standin’ by the trestle
Can’t you hear a ghostly whistle
And the breathing of an engine pulling into Monterey
It’s the California Zephyr whose headlight has forever burned its brand upon the mist that fills the California day
Rolling fields and pastures
Paved for miles around Salinas
Too soon the rows of houses
Will lay claim to all you see
But who can show their children
Those small adobe casas
And the families toiling in their fields beside the sea
Evening lights of San Jose
Once humbled by the stars
And the strolling troubadour guitar ringing
They’ve all vanished with the flashing
neon lights and shiny cars
But the memory sets the rusty rails a singing
And when you’re standing by the trestle
Can’t you hear a ghostly whistle
And the breathing of an engine pulling into San Jose
It’s the California Zephyr whose headlight has forever burned its brand upon the mist that fills the California day
Southern California
Where the hills roll to the sea
And the schemes of men with vision
choke the life out of the land
There’s a shroud upon the valleys
Where a blue sky used to be
And the oil along the shoreline covers up the golden sand
But the city of the Angels and the path the padres trod
Somehow withheld appearing from days of old
And Spanish tongues still whisper
To a Spanish speaking God
And the ghosts of dreamers roam the hills of gold
And when you’re standing by the trestle
Can’t you hear a ghostly whistle
And the breathing of an engine pulling into old L.A.
It’s the California Zephyr whose headlight has forever burned its brand upon the mist that fills the California day
Jim Brown
on The California Zephyr
California Zephyr
Tom Farre
on Back to Salinas
Here are the lyrics:
Back to Salinas
Down the main highway to the flat prairie town
She hopes just to see him again.
There's no one can tell her what she's bringing down
She's the kindest far over the plain.
Everyone knows he's unable to love
That's his story wherever he goes.
Well, maybe she's counting on help from above
For an answer that nobody knows.
To see her again just tears me apart
When we meet there's a kind of a strain.
But the call of her work and the same broken heart
Will take her back to Salinas again.
Soon I'll pass by Salinas on the way going north,
I'll see the trees and the meadows so green.
Beside me the man for whom the heart does grow cold
From the lady with the sad golden dream.
Not a day does go by that I don't wonder inside
How often this heart hears her name?
And is there a yearning that he needs to hide
To go back to Salinas again?
Back to Salinas again?
Back to Salinas again?
lenny.rdb
on The California Zephyr
Reading the previous comments, "majestic" is a good word and for me too, this song is and has been my very favorite since I first came across it in the '80's. I'm a bit embarrassed to pin it as my favorite because the production might seem a little melodramatic, reminiscent of Gogi Grant's The Wayward Wind.... but what the hell, I just love it. I hang on the powerful images and feelings that Jim Ringer's lyrics evoke for me. Coming to California in the early '60's, was just in time to catch a taste, a remnant of Steinbeck's California. I shared his passion, and this song takes me right back there. I'm glad to have found some others to who find something in this song to talk about. My sincere thanks to Geoecobks for posting the lyrics. I could not find them anywhere and now I can do some filling-in.