ELEANOR RIGBY
BY: THE BEATLES
ALBUM: REVOLVER
YEAR: 1966
By: Ian Jeffrey
Lyrics

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
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?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
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?
Lyrics

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
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
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?
The Meaning of Eleanor Ribgy
 Eleanor Rigby was an old lonely, who no one
cared about because she had isolated herself
from everyone else. She had a fake facial
impression pretending that she was happy,
when she was actually lonely and depressed.
Nobody cared about her death because she
lonely, no one came to her funeral. The
minister did not care about Eleanor wiping
the dirt means getting rid of something and
forgetting about it.
Citations
 Works Cited
 The Beatles. 1963. Musoguide. N.p., n.d. Web.
14 May 2010. <http://musosguide.com/listendo-you-want-to-know-a-secret-thirteenunder-appreciated-beatles-songs/7958>.
 Beatles Bible. “Eleanor Rigby.” Rev. of Eleanor
RIgby. Beatles Bible. N.p., 2008. Web. 15 May
2010.
<http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/eleanor
-rigby/>.
Citations
 Britannica. “The Beatles Biography.”
Editorial. bio.com. Britannica, 2000. Web. 13
May 2010.
<http://www.biography.com/articles/TheBeatles-9203410?part=0>.
 - - -. “Paul McCarntey Biography.” Editorial.
bio.com. Britannica, 2000. Web. 13 May 2010.
<http://www.biography.com/articles/PaulMcCartney-9390850?part=0>.
Citations
 Matthew, NY. “Eleanor Rigby.” Songfacts By
The Beatles. Songfacts, n.d. Web. 11 May
2010.
<http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=10
2>.
 Paul McCartney. N.d. pattimurachoir. JPEG
file.
 Steele, Tommy. Analysis: Eleanor Rigby. 1982.
The Culture Club. Web. 13 May 2010.
<http://www.thecultureclub.net/2009/12/03/a
nalysis-eleanor-rigby-by-the-beatles/>.
The End
Lyric Meaning
 She had a fake facial impression pretending
that she was happy, when she was actually
lonely and depressed.
 Back
Father Mckenzie
 The songwriter, Paul McCartney, was
originally going to say ‘Father McCartney’
because it was named after his Father. But he
thought it would freak out his Father if he did
that, so he looked through a telephone book
and replaced it with ‘Father Mckenzie’
 Back
Onomatopoeia
 When they say the phrase “ah, look at all the
lonely people” the first word ‘ah’ is not a
word, but an onomatopoeia. Which an
imitation of sound using a word.
 Back
Paul McCartney
 Born in Liverpol in June 18, 1942, he is a
British songwriter, composer, and bass player
for the British rock and pop band, The
Beatles.
 McCartney has 60 gold records and more
than 100 million singles, he is the most
commercially successful performer and
composer in popular music.
 Back
The Beatles
 One of the most famous British bands in the
world.
 Formed in Liverpol, Merseyside in England in
the year 1957. The first members were John
Lennon and Paul McCartney and had 2 other
members and then George Harrison and
Ringo Starr. The bands music has inspired
many and changed lives. They also created
many new ways of music with experiments
cont…. Back
The Beatles cont..
 And also created the stereo sound, where
some sounds would come from the right and
the other would come from the left.
 The Beatles changed the music world forever
and in 1970 the band broke up.
 Back
Imagery
 In this phrase, its showing imagery on what
Father McKenzie was doing. It gives specific
details, he was wiping the dirt as he walked
from the grave, which means someone was
being buried.
 Back
Eleanor Rigby
 Where did the name come from?
 The name Eleanor Rigby came from two
different areas. Eleanor came from the
actress Eleanor Bron who starred in the film
‘Help’ which was a Beatles movie.
 Rigby came from a wine store name called
Rigby and Evens Wine and Spirit Shop.
 He wanted a name that went well together
and Eleanor Rigby just sounded right
 Back
Lyric Meaning
 What he is talking about when he says “ah,
look at all the lonely people”, is that he is
referring to all the lonely people in the world
who no one cares about, just like Eleanor
Rigby.
 Back
Assonance
 The phrase “name, Nobody came” is an
assonance because it is the repetition of a
vowel sound, and came and name have
similar vowel sounds.
 Back
Theme
 The theme of these lyrics, is that there are
lonely people in the world, and it’s the people
of the world to make sure that there are as
little lonely people in the world as there can
be.
 Back
Repetition
 This lyric is showing repetition because its
repeated a few times throughout the song as
the chorus and background lyrics of this song.
 Back