2008 Woodie Awards
Why I Hate "Eleanor Rigby"
Rachel Horst
Issue date: 10/13/04 Section: Arts and Entertainment
You know it when you hear it. "Ahhhhh!" pierces through you before you even have time to think twice about what song is coming on, five or so layers of Paul McCartney's strained British tone sticking out like an unexpectedly barking dog. When it comes on the radio, everybody starts to shudder. "Oh, I love this one!" inevitably is emitted from at least one mouth. From the vast repertoire of Beatles compositions ranging over a span of over nineteen-odd albums and countless "Best of" compilations, this seems to be the quintessential serious Beatles tune. It is the one, the only, "Eleanor Rigby," the violin-ridden song about lonely people.
It is one song in a set of mad conglomerations on the Beatles' sixth album, Revolver. Released in 1966, Revolver is a landmark release in musical history. The Beatles earned their unattainable music power on this album; their cleverness of fitting lyrics perfectly with their music and their grasp of a vast array of influences was beyond any group of their time.
In the case of "Eleanor Rigby," this is completely absent. I would not be surprised to hear that Paul wrote the half-hearted lyrics in his sleep the night before recording.
The lyrics were actually written after George Martin wrote the exclusively string arrangement of Paul McCartney's original music. Paul maintained that the song was really just about lonely people, and "Eleanor Rigby" is no one in particular. I first experienced "Eleanor" sans lyrics, on the Beatles' second Anthology. I remember thinking to myself, "How can one sing to this?" Perhaps this is the problem. Once Paul starts singing, he ruins it.
"Look at all the lonely people" is quite possibly one of the lamest cop-outs I have ever heard as a rhetorical chorus as loud and urgent as that of "Eleanor Rigby". Content-wise, how can this possibly stand up against "Revolution No. 1" or "Taxman?" I find the vocal line quite irritating and out of place. They should have left George Martin's score alone in order to stew and find a better thought process. This song does not even masquerade as meaningful, and I have heard a lot of Beatles music.
It is one song in a set of mad conglomerations on the Beatles' sixth album, Revolver. Released in 1966, Revolver is a landmark release in musical history. The Beatles earned their unattainable music power on this album; their cleverness of fitting lyrics perfectly with their music and their grasp of a vast array of influences was beyond any group of their time.
In the case of "Eleanor Rigby," this is completely absent. I would not be surprised to hear that Paul wrote the half-hearted lyrics in his sleep the night before recording.
The lyrics were actually written after George Martin wrote the exclusively string arrangement of Paul McCartney's original music. Paul maintained that the song was really just about lonely people, and "Eleanor Rigby" is no one in particular. I first experienced "Eleanor" sans lyrics, on the Beatles' second Anthology. I remember thinking to myself, "How can one sing to this?" Perhaps this is the problem. Once Paul starts singing, he ruins it.
"Look at all the lonely people" is quite possibly one of the lamest cop-outs I have ever heard as a rhetorical chorus as loud and urgent as that of "Eleanor Rigby". Content-wise, how can this possibly stand up against "Revolution No. 1" or "Taxman?" I find the vocal line quite irritating and out of place. They should have left George Martin's score alone in order to stew and find a better thought process. This song does not even masquerade as meaningful, and I have heard a lot of Beatles music.