Eleanor Rigby
The Standells Lyrics


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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

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 Standells’s song “Eleanor Rigby” is a poignant commentary on the isolation and loneliness that plague modern society. The song begins with the singer commenting on the lonely people he sees in the world around him. He then introduces two characters: Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie. Eleanor is a woman who “picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been” and “waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door.” The singer wonders who this face is for and why she keeps it. Father McKenzie is a priest who writes sermons that no one hears and spends his nights darning his socks in an empty church. The singer asks what Father McKenzie cares about if no one is listening to him.


The song ends with the news that Eleanor Rigby has died in the church and was buried with no one in attendance. Father McKenzie wipes the dirt from his hands as he walks away from her grave, and the singer observes that “no one was saved.” The song suggests that the loneliness and isolation that Eleanor and Father McKenzie experience are not unique to them but are instead part of a larger societal problem. Ultimately, the song raises questions about the nature of human connection and our responsibility to reach out to those around us.


Line by Line Meaning

Ah look at all the lonely people
The singer is pointing out the many people who are alone in the world.


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
Eleanor Rigby is a lonely person who spends her time working in the church, living in a world of imagination and waiting for someone who never comes. She keeps an image of herself that she wants others to see, but no one is there to look.


All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?
The singer is questioning where all these lonely people come from and where they should 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
Father McKenzie is alone and isolated, writing sermons that won't be heard by anyone. He spends his nights darning his own socks, without anyone to keep him company.


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
Eleanor Rigby dies alone in the church and nobody came to her funeral. Father McKenzie buries her and walks away, lamenting that he wasn't able to change her fate.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Félix A. Peralta

Nice cover from the Beatles

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