"Eleanor Rigby"

Analytical Essay # 116671

Music Studies > Contemporary

"Eleanor Rigby"

An analytical essay on the Beatles' song, "Eleanor Rigby."

2,121 words () | 0 sources | MLA | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper firstly explores how the surface meaning to the Beatles' song, "Eleanor Rigby," is loneliness, examining the lives of two lonely people. The paper examines the possible causes of loneliness suggested in the song, namely the church. The paper then discusses the lives of the two characters in the song as described by the lyrics. The author of the paper explains that the song suggests that nobody is specifically responsible for the characters' loneliness but that through the selfishness of the characters, nobody was able to improve the situation either.

From the Paper:

"The song "Eleanor Rigby," by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, provides an interesting message to the listener because it seems to come from so many different places. On the surface, this song is about two very lonely people within the Church congregation who have lived unsuccessful lives with little to no chance for escape. Eleanor Rigby is a woman who has never been married and has no children. She is the janitor at a Church and she spends her time watching the weddings, and subsequent happiness, of others while never being able to achieve her own happiness. Her loneliness does not have a chance to be alleviated because she dies at the end of the song and no one even cares."