☝️ Key Points
- Depicts the loneliness and isolation of two characters, Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie
- Eleanor Rigby, who lives in a church, wears a metaphorical mask to hide her true feelings from the world
- Father McKenzie is a priest who preaches to a non-existent congregation and feels a deep inner loneliness
- The song raises questions about the origin of lonely people and questions societal neglect and isolation
- Eleanor Rigby dies and is buried with her name, representing being forgotten and the transience of life, while Father McKenzie also remains alone and unnoticed
Interpretation
"Eleanor Rigby" is a song that tells the stories of two lonely and isolated characters: Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie.
Eleanor Rigby is described as a lonely woman who picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been. She lives in a dream world and waits by her window daily while wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door. The mask could symbolize the facade she maintains to the world.
Father McKenzie is a priest who preaches to a congregation that doesn't exist. He is so lonely that he darns his socks in the night when there's nobody there.
The song repeatedly asks where all these lonely people come from and where they belong, pointing to a deeper social problem.
In the end, Eleanor Rigby dies and is buried along with her name, suggesting that she fades into oblivion. Father McKenzie, who visits the grave, also remains alone and unnoticed.
Overall, "Eleanor Rigby" raises questions about social isolation, loneliness, and the human need for belonging, and portrays the sad reality that many people are overlooked and forgotten in society."