Historical Significance of Eleanor Rigby - 3568 Words

Overview A song by Beatles, Eleanor Rigby was released simultaneously on the album Revolver in the year 1966 as well as on a 45 rpm single. Primarily, the song was written by Paul McCartney and was dedicated to Lennon McCartney (Miles, 1997). George Martin did a great job at making a string quartet arrangement. The striking lyrics about loneliness along with the arrangement transformed the kind of songs from what were mostly pop-oriented to the kind that were studio-based. There is no second opinion about the fact that this song made a dent in the conventions of the popular music; both in terms of lyrics and music (Campbell and Bondy, 2008). Pertaining to the fates and concerns of the elderly that are mostly neglected, Richie Unterberger has said that this is one of the main reasons why Beatles have been able to catch the attention of people who are beyond the traditional rock audience (Unterberger, 2013). Historical Significance This song also has a historical connotation since there is a gravestone by the name of Eleanor Rigby in St. Peters Churchyard that is situated in Woolton, United Kingdom. It should be noted that Woolton is a suburb of the city of Liverpool and this is where Lennon and McCartney first met during a fete at St. Peters Church. According to the gravestone that bears the name of Eleanor, she died at the age of 44 in the year 1939. Nonetheless, Eleanor is not the kind of lonely people that the Beatles have stressed upon in their song as she was