The Strange Tale of The Real Eleanor Rigby & How She Raised $250,000
Eleanor Rigby inspired Paul McCartney from beyond the grave, not once but twice.
Published in
7 min readMar 27, 2024
Eleanor Rigby, the eerie second track on The Beatles’ iconic album Revolver, has a bizarre backstory that’s as mysterious as it is captivating.
It has sparked rumors about the song’s characters being inspired by real people and raised questions about who truly penned Eleanor Rigby’s lyrics.
There are many conflicting claims. For instance:
- John claimed he penned most of the lyrics.
- McCartney disagreed yet has contradicted himself throughout the years.
- Others claim lyrical contributions, including a childhood friend as well as George Harrison, who was credited with allegedly writing the main hook.
The song’s characters were indeed actual people from Liverpool, buried in a cemetery near where John and Paul first met. This strange twist raises some interesting questions. In this piece we will unpack the answers to the following questions and hopefully get some clarity on the true story of the famous Eleanor Rigby:
- Were the lyrics based on the real-life Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie, or was it just a coincidence?
