In the first blog entry I’m writing I’m going to recommend a song and explain the meaning behind it. The song I have chosen is Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles. I recommend it because it has this really cool rhythm - kind of soft rock. Personally, it's not my favorite song - not even in the top 5, but I really like it. 

So if you want to listen, here's the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EqMmGlTc_w

The Meaning Behind Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles:

Eleanor Rigby is a song by the iconic rock band The Beatles from their album Revolver. The rhythm is even more iconic; it has been playing in my head since I was 7 or 8. The question is: What is the meaning behind this iconic rhythm? What or who is Eleanor Rigby? Why did The Beatles make a song that is about Eleanor Rigby?

Firstly, What or Who is Eleanor Rigby?

According to BBC, in a graveyard in Liverpool there is a headstone bearing the name Eleanor Rigby. John Lennon and McCartney had met at a church fete in 1957 just a few yards away from the grave of Eleanor Rigby who died at the age of 44 in 1939.

Nine years later in 1966, Paul McCartney would write this iconic song. 

Also according to BBC: “It is tempting to picture the teenage Lennon and McCartney somberly contemplating the headstone, imagining the life of Eleanor and later dreaming up the lyrics.” (I mean I agree with that.) Also McCartney denied that the grave wasn’t the inspiration of the song. Though he admits that "it might have registered it subliminally."

But I can’t trust all the sources because this source says that: McCartney explains the song by saying "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?" Also that website explains the song's story by saying “The song tells the story of two lonely people. First, we meet a churchgoing woman named Eleanor Rigby, who is seen cleaning up rice after a wedding. The second verse introduces the pastor, Father McKenzie, whose sermons "no one will hear." This could indicate that nobody is coming to his church, or that his sermons aren't getting through to the congregation on a spiritual level. In the third verse, Eleanor dies in the church and Father McKenzie buries her.” Also it says that “"no one was saved," lyrics says that her soul did not elevate to heaven as promised by the church.“ I do not agree with that. In conclusion, I found tons of sources, websites all saying a wide variety of things so I couldn’t find a common answer but I think it’s simpler than most people think.

The Most Possible Answer (According to me)

When I first read all the sources and gathered some information I thought to myself “The answer is simple, there is no need to write false stories about it...”

Here’s what I think:

So earlier the year Eleanor Rigby (the song) released (1966) John Lennon said this contreversional thing: “Christianity will vanish someday I don’t need to argue that. We are more popular than Jesus. I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity.”

So that was a scandal, everyone was angry and all (The same scandal possibly even led to the assasination of John Lennon in 1980). So in order to calm down the Church and Christians, he wrote “Eleanor Rigby” which includes the church and related stuff. Also, in 1970 The Beatles released “Let it Be” which includes “Mother Mary”. You can ask “Then who is Eleanor Rigby?” It's simple. As BBC mentioned, John Lennon and McCartney had met at a church fete in 1957 just a few yards away from the grave of Eleanor Rigby who died at the age of 44 in 1939. So they could have thought that Eleanor Rigby was a nun, so they made a song about sadness and loneliness.I think I should add that Eleanor Rigby could be an imaginary person who’s a nun (it is common knowledge that nuns can’t get married) and works in a church, “picking up the rice in the church where a wedding has been” (the bride throws rice when she’s getting married). However, Eleanor Rigby can’t get married because she’s a nun. Yet, she’s still happy because she’s doing a holy job. But when she dies at the age of 44, nobody comes to her funeral. She dies alone.

1 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-41162284

2 https://www.insider.com/paul-mccartney-beatles-eleanor-rigby-real-person-2021-10

3 https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-beatles/eleanor-rigby