The backstory of "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles released on Revolver is a mix of accidental coincidence and Paul McCartney’s imagination about loneliness, featuring the name origins and real-life parallels.
Name Origins
- Eleanor: McCartney liked the name after working with actress Eleanor Bron in the film Help!
- Rigby: Taken from a store sign in Bristol that read "Rigby & Evens Ltd."
- Original idea: McCartney initially used the placeholder name "Miss Daisy Hawkins" before settling on Eleanor Rigby.
The Real Grave Coincidence
- Years after the song came out, people found a real gravestone for an Eleanor Rigby in the graveyard of St Peter's Church in Woolton, Liverpool.
- McCartney later acknowledged he may have seen that specific grave subconsciously as a teenager while hanging out with John Lennon near the church.
- The real Eleanor Rigby was an ordinary woman who led a quiet life and died in 1939, though McCartney insisted the character in his song was completely fictional.
Song Meaning
- The lyrics focus on isolated characters—Eleanor Rigby, who cleans up rice after weddings she never attended, and Father McKenzie, writing sermons nobody hears.
- Their stories touch on the tragic reality of unseen, forgotten people in society who only cross paths at the end.
For a quick breakdown of how Paul McCartney came up with the name and concept:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2X2ZSirEIIU&time_continue=97&source_ve_pa…
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