‘Eleanor Rigby’ is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with ‘Yellow Submarine’. Credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership, the song is one of only a few in which John Lennon and Paul McCartney later disputed primary authorship. Eyewitness testimony from several independent sources, including George Martin and Pete Shotton, supports McCartney's claim to authorship. The song continued the transformation of the Beatles from a mainly rock and roll- and pop-oriented act to a more experimental, studio-based band. With a double string quartet arrangement by George Martin and lyrics providing a narrative on loneliness, it broke sharply with popular music conventions, both musically and lyrically. The song topped singles charts in Australia, Belgium, Canada, and New Zealand.
Paul McCartney wrote most of this song. He got the name "Eleanor" from the actress Eleanor Bron, who appeared in the 1965 Beatles film Help!. "Rigby" came to him when he was in Bristol, England, and spotted a store: Rigby and Evens Ltd Wine and Spirit Shippers. He liked the name "Eleanor Rigby" because it sounded natural and matched the rhythm he wrote. McCartney explained at the time that his songs came mostly from his imagination. Regarding this song, he said, "It just came. When I started doing the melody I developed the lyric. It all came from the first line. I wonder if there are girls called Eleanor Rigby?"
McCartney wasn't sure what the song was going to be about until he came up with the line "picks up the rice in a church where a wedding has been." That's when he came up with the story of an old, lonely woman. The lyrics "wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door" are a reference to the cold-cream she wears in an effort to look younger.
Paul McCartney recounted this song's origin story in a 2018 interview with GQ. He said: "When I was really little, I lived on what was called a housing estate, which is like the projects - there were a lot of old ladies and I enjoyed sitting around with these older ladies because they had these great stories, in this case about World War II. One in particular I used to visit and I'd go shopping for her - you know, she couldn't get out. So, I had that figure in my mind of a sort of lonely old lady.”
He continued, “Over the years, I've met a couple of others, and maybe their loneliness made me empathize with them. But I thought it was a great character, so I started this song about the lonely old lady who picks up the rice in the church, who never really gets the dreams in her life. Then I added in the priest, the vicar, Father McKenzie. And so, there was just the two characters. It was like writing a short story, and it was basically on these old ladies that I had known as a kid." "Father Mackenzie" was originally "Father McCartney." Paul decided he didn't want to freak out his dad and picked a name out of the phone book instead.
Labels – Parlophone (UK), Capitol (US)
Songwriters – John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Producer – George Martin
SONG LYRICS
[Intro: Paul McCartney, John Lennon & George Harrison]Ah, look at all the lonely people!
Ah, look at all the lonely people!
[Verse 1: Paul McCartney]
Eleanor Rigby
Picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window
Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
[Chorus: Paul McCartney]
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
[Verse 2: Paul McCartney]
Father McKenzie
Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working
Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?
[Chorus: Paul McCartney]
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
[Bridge: Paul McCartney, John Lennon & George Harrison]
Ah, look at all the lonely people!
Ah, look at all the lonely people!
[Verse 3: Paul McCartney]
Eleanor Rigby
Died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie
Wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
[Outro: Paul McCartney]
All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people!)
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people!)
Where do they all belong?