Eleanor Rigby
Echoes of Solitude: Unraveling the Loneliness in Jackie Wilson's Eleanor Rigby
Lyrics
Ah! Look at all the lonely people
Expressing surprise or empathy at the sight of isolated individuals
Ah! Look at all the lonely people
Reiteration of the observation of lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice in a church
Introducing Eleanor Rigby, engaged in cleaning up after a wedding in a church
Where a wedding has been
Describing the aftermath of a wedding ceremony
Lives in a dream
Suggesting that Eleanor lives in a fantasy or illusion
Waits at the window, wearing the face
Depicting Eleanor waiting by the window, hiding her true emotions
That she keeps in a jar by the door
Describing a preserved face kept in a jar as a facade
Who is it for?
Pondering the purpose or recipient of Eleanor's facade
All the lonely people,
Referring to a collective group of isolated individuals
Where do they all come from?
Pose a rhetorical question about the origin of lonely people
All the lonely people,
Reiteration of the presence of lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Pose a rhetorical question about the place where lonely people belong
Father McKenzie, writing the words
Introducing Father McKenzie, occupied with writing a sermon
Of a sermon that no one will hear
Highlighting the futility of the sermon, as no one will listen
No one comes near
Emphasizing the lack of attention or proximity to Father McKenzie
Look at him working, darning his socks
Depicting Father McKenzie mending his own socks in solitude
In the night when there's nobody there
Describing the isolation during the night when nobody is around
What does he care?
Questioning Father McKenzie's concern for his lonely state
All the lonely people,
Reiteration of the existence of lonely people
Where do they all come from?
Pose a rhetorical question about the origin of lonely people
All the lonely people,
Reiteration of the inquiry about the place where lonely people belong
Where do they all belong?
Pose a rhetorical question about the place where lonely people belong
Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
Revealing Eleanor Rigby's death in the church
And was buried along with her name
Noting Eleanor's burial with no attendance or mourners
Nobody came
Highlighting the absence of people at Eleanor's funeral
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
Depicting Father McKenzie cleaning his hands after the burial
From his hands as he walks from the grave
Emphasizing the lack of salvation or rescue during the funeral
No one was saved
Indicating that no one was saved during or after the burial
All the lonely people,
Reiteration of the presence of lonely people
Where do they all come from?
Pose a rhetorical question about the origin of lonely people
All the lonely people,
Reiteration of the inquiry about the place where lonely people belong
Where do they all belong?
Pose a rhetorical question about the place where lonely people belong
Comment