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Cowboy Carter: Why Beyoncé's cover of The Beatles' Blackbird is the key to the new album

Clare Thorp
Features correspondent
Getty Images Beyonce wearing a cowboy hatGetty Images

Beyoncé's cover of The Beatles' classic track Blackbird on Cowboy Carter reveals the lesser-known story that inspired Paul McCartney – and holds the key to her album.

When Beyoncé first announced that she would be releasing a country-inspired album, talk quickly turned to whether she would take this chance to not only put her own spin on the genre herself – but on some of its most-loved songs. Hearing Queen Bee take on the Queen of Country Dolly Parton's hit Jolene seemed like a delicious opportunity – with Parton herself dropping huge hints about the prospect. And when the 27-track Cowboy Carter album finally dropped, Beyoncé did indeed deliver – rewriting the lyrics to be less of a plea and more a stark warning ("Your peace depends on how you move, Jolene."). Dolly herself is onboard to introduce the track, saying: "Hey miss Honey B, it's Dolly P. You know that hussy with the good hair you sing about">window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article', placement: 'Below Article', target_type: 'mix' });