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Genius Annotation

“Eleanor Rigby” is a song about loneliness and depression representing a departure from their early pop love songs.

This is an early example of the Beatles taking risks and dabbling in other genres; in this particular example it’s baroque pop, as made evident by the string arrangements. During the Beatles' experimental phase, their producer George Martin experimented with studio techniques to satiate the Beatles' artistic desires. To achieve the aggressive punchy sound of the strings, Martin had the microphones set up really close to the instruments, much to the chagrin of the session players, who were not used to such a unique set-up.

This is the only Beatles song where none of the Beatles play an instrument. They only sing as a string ensemble plays on. There was also some debate between John Lennon and Paul McCartney as to who wrote most of the song, but the song tends to follow more of Paul’s storytelling style.

Eerily enough, the name Eleanor Rigby was found on a gravestone at the St. Peter’s Parish Church where John and Paul met as teenagers. In a 2018 interview, McCartney said that he hadn’t known of that person or the gravestone when he wrote the song.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What inspired the song?
Genius Answer

Paul McCartney explained in a November 2020 piece for Rolling Stone:

‘Eleanor Rigby’ was based on old ladies I knew as a kid. For some reason or other, I got great relationships with a couple of local old ladies. I was thinking the other day, I don’t know how I met them, it wasn’t like they were family. I’d just run into them, and I’d do their shopping for them. It just felt good to me. I would sit and talk, and they’d have amazing stories. That’s what I liked. They would have stories from the wartime — because I was born actually in the war — and so these old ladies, they were participating in the war.

What did The Beatles say about "Eleanor Rigby"?
Genius Answer

Paul McCartney said about the song:

I wrote “Eleanor Rigby” when I was living in London and had a piano in the basement. I used to disappear there, and while I was fiddling on a chord some words came out: “Dazzie-de-da-zu picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been…” This idea of someone picking up rice after a wedding took it in that poignant direction, into a “lonely people” direction.

I had a bit of trouble with the name, and I’m always keen to get a name that sounds right.We were working with Eleanor Bron on [the film] Help! and I liked the name Eleanor; it was the first time I’d ever been involved with that name. I saw “Rigby” on a shop in Bristol when I was walking round the city one evening … so it became “Eleanor Rigby”.

I thought, I swear, that I made up the name Eleanor Rigby like that … But it seems that up in Woolton Cemetery, where I used to hang out a lot with John, there’s a gravestone to an Eleanor Rigby. It was either complete coincidence or in my subconscious.

Where did the name "Eleanor Rigby" come from?
Genius Answer

At first, McCartney improvised the name “Ola Na Tungee”, which morphed into “Miss Daisy Hawkins”. He considered that “inauthentic”, so took Eleanor from Eleanor Bron, the female lead in Help!, and “Rigby” from Rigby & Evens Ltd, Wine & Spirit Shippers, a shop in Bristol.

Was Eleanor Rigby a real person?
Where did the name Father McKenzie come from?
Is there a live performance of "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles?
Credits
Produced By
String Arranger
Recorded At
Abbey Road Studios
Release Date
August 5, 1966
Eleanor Rigby Covers
Eleanor Rigby by R. Stevie Moore, Eleanor Rigby (Slowed + Reverb) by Cody Fry, Eleanor Rigby by Junior Reid, Eleanor Rigby (Amazon Original) by Palaye Royale, Eleanor Rigby by Tony Bennett, Eleanor Rigby by The Hellacopters, Eleanor Rigby by Larry Carlton, Eleanor Rigby by Vince Guaraldi, Eleanor Rigby by Paul Anka, Eleanor Rigby by George Martin, Eleanor Rigby by Bobby Taylor, Eleanor Rigby by Cody Fry, Eleanor Rigby by William Hinson, Eleanor Rigby by Chandler Leighton, Eleanor Rigby by Kiesza, Eleanor Rigby by GUNSHIP, Eleanor Rigby by Rusty Cage, Eleanor Rigby by P. P. Arnold, Eleanor Rigby by Al Di Meola, Ma come fa la gente sola by Adriano Celentano, Symphony for Eleanor (Eleanor Rigby) by The Ides of March, Eleanor Rigby by Bobbie Gentry, Eleanor Rigby (Official Live Session) by Black Pumas, Eleanor Rigby by Mariah Belgrod, Eleanor Rigby by The Beat Bugs (Ft. Of Monsters and Men), Eleanor Rigby (Live at Fillmore West, 1971) by Aretha Franklin, Eleanor Rigby/Eleanor’s Dream by Paul McCartney, Eleanor Rigby by Thrice, Eleonor Rigby by O'Connor, Eleanor Rigby by Bloodrock, Eleanor Rigby by The Handsome Family, Eleanor Rigby by Joshua Redman, Eleanor Rigby by Maggie McClure, Eleanor Rigby by Godhead, Eleanor Rigby by Callie Moore, Eleanor Rigby by The Free Design, Eleanor rigby by Krystle Warren, Eleanor Rigby by Big Country, Eleanor Rigby by Gary Burton & Chick Corea, Eleanor rigby (dub) by Antidoping, Eleanor Rigby by Alice Cooper, Eleanor Rigby by Caetano Veloso, Eleanor Rigby by Zoot (Band), Eleanor Rigby by Letters From The Fire, Eleanor Rigby by Enola Gay, Eleanor Rigby by Eruca Sativa, Eleanor Rigby by Jackie Wilson, Eleanor Rigby by Vitamin String Quartet, Eleanor Rigby by Kansas, Eleanor Rigby by Dirt Poor Robins, Eleanor Rigby (American Idol Performance) by David Cook, Eleanor Rigby by The Four Tops, Eleanor Rigby by The Violet Burning, Eleanor Rigby by The New Beatles, Eleanor Rigby by Nonpalidece, Nega maluca / Billie Jean / Eleanor Rigby by Caetano Veloso, Eleanor Rigby by Booker T. & The MG's, Eleanor Rigby by John Denver, Eleanor Rigby by John Tesh, Eleanor Rigby by Stanley Jordan, Eleanor Rigby by Joe Jackson, Eleanor Rigby by Johnny Mathis, Eleanor Rigby by Joan Baez, Eleanor Rigby by Vanilla Fudge, Eleanor Rigby by Richie Havens, Eleanor Rigby by Ray Charles, Eleanor Rigby by Cássia Eller, Eleanor Rigby by Walk off the Earth, Eleanor Rigby by Miloš Karadaglić, Eleanor Rigby by The Yesteryears, Eleanor Rigby by Aretha Franklin, Eleanor Rigby by Rachel Claudio (Ft. SoFLY), Eleanor Rigby by Our Last Night, Eleanor Rigby by Pain (SWE), Eleanor Rigby by Rare Earth, Eleanor Rigby by Realm (Band), Eleanor Rigby by Rick Wakeman, Eleanor Rigby by Rick Springfield, Eleanor Rigby by The Standells, Eleanor Rigby by Chick Corea, Eleanor Rigby - אלינור רגבי by Shlomo Artzi - שלמה ארצי, Eleanor Rigby by Hava Alberstein - חוה אלברשטיין, Eleanor Rigby by El Chicano, Eleanor Rigby by Count Basie, Eleanor Rigby [Live at Fenway Park, Boston, MA, 06.16.2018] by Zac Brown Band (Ft. Darrell Scott & Mark O'Connor Band), Eleanor Rigby (Mono) by Vince Guaraldi & Eleanor Rigby by Liz Callaway
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