Blackbird ( bye bye and more 🎶)

Contest entry and my story on the time and songs of the Beatles.

1,653 words of the story.

Blackbird ( Bye bye) and more!🎶

Blackbird singing in the dead of night 🌌…


Some like her, could hear the first notes 🎶 and knew what was coming.
The slight squeak of fingers on the fretboard with the changing of the chords.

She learned some of the chords from the BEATles song Blackbird, originated and was inspired from Johann Sebastian Bach , a piece called Bourree in E Minor.

Lots of layers of reality and meaningful excursions into the sounds. The sound of the Blackbird in Rishikesh India
heard by Paul McCartney and thoughts of The Civil rights movement “ waiting for this moment to arise”. 1968 and wide open to interpretation…


To the many and the few who could decipher the signs and seasons of the time. Those who could understand the climate by living in those days and its history. It was a long time since the 1960s and Blackbird was first written.

It's 2025 and today June 18th is Paul McCartney's birthday 🎉!
He is 82 and still going strong as is Ringo!

She thought back to those days and just one of the conversations they would have during the 1970s . Just one of the many songs they would share together. As many other people did appreciate it as well and many made memories of those times as well…

Blackbird.
He played it on his D-28 Martin guitar for the first time one day in summer 1972 for her. He didn't miss a note 🎶 🎵.
As one who had been accepted to both Julliard and the Manhattan School of music, he was pleased to share this gift of music and budding friendship to her while visiting at her (Forster) home ,an Apt in Brooklyn a few miles from his parents house (which was in a nicer neighborhood.)
Mitzi had no formal training but was born with an ear for music. She could pick up an instrument and figure out how to get a song out of it!
She had loved the BEATles since age 8. Almost seeing them at Shea Stadium ( a story for another time) having only seen The NY Mets play there, as her grandfather loved baseball ⚾.
They also went to Bat or Ball days and she was given one Small bat or regular baseball at Yankee stadium in the Bronx upon entering.

She also loved music 🎵 every type. From listening to her mother playing 78 or 33 Rpm records of classical or Frank Sinatra.The radio 📻 in the Apt or
Listening to her little red transistor radio “ Made in Japan” play WABCs top ten of Motown and other artists of the time. The Beatles in the golden age of her favorite songs! In the summer camping out on the fire escape with lots of blankets. Watching the stars and “America's top forty” playing.

When she was 12 and babysitting for a neighbor, it was the 2 year olds nap time.
The child's mother Marie would teach her to play chopsticks on their piano 🎹 and have her listen to BEATles albums, while she laid on the floor next to the stereo.
She was guided to listen to the lead guitar only. Then it was the drums or another musical instrument, until she could memorize each note 🎶.

They discussed if Paul was really dead and she learned about Edgar Cayce and other interesting 🤔 people!

A few years later and Mitzi would be talking to her friend from the block party about God and everything under the sun.

Civil rights and all the issues of the early 1970’s they talked about, many times on the wall phone with it's long cord, so she could sit by the window.
Sometimes watching the moon or the sun coming up on a Brooklyn 🌄 morning!

There wasn't a topic they didn't discuss.


Now that she was a teenager and in the midst of her confused life, she had found a friend who could play music,any song! And talked to her, not down to her. He listened and they both learned from each other.
It didn't matter if they were from different classes of people, they were equal to each other.


The first Christmas for that year was coming up and she was planning on buying him a new pair of sneakers. His were ripped up badly.
When she asked “what size?” he wore she didn't expect the answer he gave her…

That it was his choice to wear ripped up sneakers! That his mother wanted him to get new ones but he didn't want them.

Mitzi thought about it, she thought he was poor and couldn't afford new sneakers. She couldn't imagine someone having enough money and choosing to look poor. It didn't make sense to her at first.

It was a lie 🤥 but some people thought it cool and hip to look that way.



His friends called him Bassman!
He could play classical music as well.
One thing he couldn't play was improvise. Mitzi could make up a song on the spot with song, guitar and harmonica.

She played open mike at Folk City and other clubs in the village.
With music she could escape the memories of darkness and the times they began.

She could think about the future and be in a soulful realm away from the dark times and things she dared not talk about.
She could “arise above” for one, A secret her friend knew about but accepted her anyway.

The summer they would meet, one night her mother jumped from the roof of their 4 th floor Apt building.

Later Mitzi was brought to the hospital by the police and led her into a room to identify her mother. No one came with her they just closed the huge wooden door. There was a metal divider with sheer white cloth on it. Behind it was her mother…

She was alone at 17 to walk towards her mom under a sheet covered with some blood. She said “ Jesus let her be ok please” she listened to hear if her mother was breathing and felt the warm exhale from her mother's lips.
ohh Thank God mommy…
She noticed where they had put stitches in the middle of her mother's forehead. Later she would learn,her mother had taken so many downers before she jumped, she was so limp and hitting the fire escape on the way down,had partly broken her fall and saved her life…

She came to visit her mother every day and wiped her face with a wet cloth. Taking to her even though she was still unconscious a month later.

She sang Beatles songs and other ones. As her mother's hands were tied to the metal bars. ( to keep her from picking at the bandage on her forehead). She thought she heard her mother trying to hum along once.
There was no air conditioning, only huge standing fans with blades covered with dust. Old green painted walls and the smell of disinfectant and sweat about the place.

One day her Forster mom told her she needed to go to a block party with her daughter. She needed to be with people her own age. She had been patient and not trying to push Mitzi but it was over a month since the event happened and she was concerned.
Mitzi felt like she'd rather “ croak” than go, And understood . Saying “ Ok I will go!”
She decided to go and she'd leave right away and head back to the hospital anyway.

It was a warm summer night and there was a lot going on. She looked and saw a makeshift stage and headed for it after listening to a few notes that sounded good.

There was a band playing and she decided to listen to one song. As she remembers it “ it was like when Tony meets Maria at the dance,in West side story”.

She watched the bass player and suddenly her world had changed.
At least for a while. It was a magical time those 3 years. Though he cared for her , he was going to marry someone else. He had always been honest with her and she respected him for it.

It was 1976 and snowing in Greenwich village that January.
He was in front of Folk City, dressed in jeans, sneakers and a down jacket with matching gloves.
She wore bell-bottoms, leather boots and a fringed jacket made of brown suede.
Both holding guitar cases.

He walked to her, hugged her and both had tears,as she told him she was going to California in a van with some musician friends. She didn't expect to be coming back.

They spoke on the phone a few times, like when she had her first daughter. Life goes on and gets busy. A jealous boyfriend found her address book and threw it away, even though she was true to him. Her friends new number at his recording studio was in it
An end of one chapter and beginning ☯️ of many more.


Hard days night ( indeed!)

All my loving ( I gave to you but it didn't matter because to me, you couldn't be true…)

Don't let me down ( every one did pretty much except God. I tried not to give up on myself or others…)

Strawberry 🍓 Fields ( I found growing Strawberries,corn 🌽 and many other things were awesome and I miss them and hope to have it again ❤️ 😄! Living with closed eyes and mind . Misunderstanding all you see. Yes many did but I'd rather be able to see then live in darkness! Do not want to judge others.

To let it be
Live and let live!

I'm so tired…

Yeah yeah yeah yeah 🎶
Yet there's a good energy from these songs and some memories of folks who loved me and colored my world with love, hope and faith.