Eleanor Rigby / Julia
The Beatles Lyrics


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I look at all the lonely people
I 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?

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
Where do they all come from?




All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Overall Meaning

The Beatles’ song “Eleanor Rigby/Julia” is a somber meditation on loneliness, death, and the search for belonging. The song begins with the singer observing “all the lonely people” and wondering about their origins and destinies. The focus then shifts to two characters: Eleanor Rigby, who picks up rice after a wedding in a church, and Father McKenzie, who writes a sermon that no one will hear and darns his socks in the night. Both characters seem trapped in their routines and isolated from the world around them. Eleanor wears a “face that she keeps in a jar by the door” but it is not clear who it is meant to impress. Father McKenzie, meanwhile, is alone with his thoughts and his work, seemingly uncaring of who hears his words.


Line by Line Meaning

I look at all the lonely people
Observing individuals who are alone and lack companionship


Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Eleanor Rigby is cleaning up after a wedding that she didn't attend


Lives in a dream
Eleanor Rigby is unable to connect with reality and feels isolated


Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Eleanor Rigby is eagerly anticipating something that never comes and disguising her true feelings


Who is it for?
Eleanor Rigby is questioning the purpose of her waiting and pretending


All the lonely people Where do they all come from?
Contemplating the source of widespread loneliness and isolation


Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no-one will hear
A priest is crafting a message that will go unheard and unheeded


No-one comes near Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
The priest is alone and spends his time fixing his clothing in solitude


What does he care?
The priest's isolation has caused him to question the value of his work and message


Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name Nobody came
Even in death, Eleanor Rigby was unable to find meaningful human connection


Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave No-one was saved
The priest performed a burial alone and without any witnesses, highlighting his own isolation and the absence of redemption for the deceased




Contributed by Cameron C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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