Eleanor Rigby

2Эрик: Немного старше, на четыре года. Тогда, в 67-м, правда, это была разница. Но реакция на Револьвер, видишь, примерно одинаковая. Вот, сейчас прослушал I'm Only Sleeping с твоей подачи - как заново. А насчет сайта, да, ты прав, чувствую то же самое. Нашел его случайно, когда хотел заказать билеты на "ПМ на КП". Поехать в Москву тогда не смог, но сюда заходить стал регулярно. А вот 2 ноября зарегистрировался. Портвейна сегодня под рукой нет, но давай хоть за пивом: "...look at all the lonely people"...

Четверг перед праздниками даже лучше пятницы.-)))
Вчера после работы выползаю вверх на Третьяковской. Сидит бабунька и играет на баяне, милостыньку на праздник просит, за свое высокое коммунистическое прошлое. А рядом дед кивает: вот оно.
Почти пастораль. Но играла бабунька: I look at all the lonely people...
На коренной забожусь!-)))

2Pataphisist: Это вам она бабунька... А нам, ветеранам, она еще очень даже Sexy Sadie :))

Кстати,а кто нить слышал "демку" на 20 секунд??Она где-то проскакивала на бутлегах...

Однажды в прошлой жизни подруга приехала ко мне из Москвы и дала мне послушать кассету с 10-15 песнями "Битлз". Тогда они пролетели сквозь уши почти все,кроме"Еleanor..."Одна аранжировка чего стоит!А сочетание струнных с голосами битлов создает чувство,что это на ТЕБЕ играют и ТЕБЯ поют...

Кстати до сих пор не ясна доля написания этой песни Джоном....Пол как-то темнит...

Одна из лучших битловских песен. точка.

А демо-версию (20 сек) так никто и не слышал?

Я слышал. А она, кстати, не из видео "Антология"?

Eleanor Rigby
Lennon/McCartney

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Father McKenzie, writing the words
of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks
in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Interpretation

The theme of this song is certainly not subtle: it's about lonely people. But stating it thus doesn't do justice to what the Beatles were really saying. A closer inspection reveals that this song examines why the lonely people are lonely.

The song has two characters, Eleanor Rigby and Father McKenzie. These two are connected by the church, in this case the actual church that Father McKenzie preaches at and Eleanor Rigby cleans. She is -- and this is not apparent immediately -- a custodian in this church. How do we know that she's the custodian? Well, she picks up rice after weddings...that's a clue. And she died in the church...that's another clue.

At this point, it's good to ask students, if Eleanor Rigby is a custodian, why did the Beatles choose the post-wedding cleanup as the one image showing this? Students usually will quickly come to realize that this image reflects the "dream" she lives in: she wants to marry.

Here's where I tell my classes, artists never choose details indiscriminately. Every description is a clue, a symbol, a piece of the jigsaw puzzle. That is, often, the difference between good art and mediocre art. Mediocre artists often cannot tell you why they chose this detail or that shade of coloring; it just felt right. Great artists know why they do what they do.

Back to the song. Eleanor's dream is further developed in the strange line "wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door." This is a great line to have students puzzle over. Eventually, with a little nudging, they'll see that this face is probably the face that she puts on to look beautiful, the jar being the makeup jar from which the face comes. She waits each night by her door, waiting for a caller, all prettied up with no one to notice. When students see this, they really have pity for this woman.

Meanwhile, there is another pitiful character: Father McKenzie. Though he has a higher station in life than Eleanor Rigby (priest versus custodian), he is no more successful. No one listens to his sermons; no one is saved by his words. And here's something interesting: he is doing what then would be thought of as women's work (darning his socks) while she does what men usually did in the 1960s. It might seem that both these two should get together but this is impossible. The church, in fact, makes it impossible for priests cannot marry.

Having considered this much of the song, it's appropriate to ask students: who is responsible for all the loneliness. It is, as the chorus shows, a question the Beatles ask ("Where do they all come from?"). The quick and easy answer is that it's no one's fault, it's just a sad reality. But there are some troubling questions. Why doesn't Father McKenzie at least befriend Eleanor? Shouldn't the shepherd of a church see that he has a dreaming, lonely woman sitting back there, wedding after wedding? Doesn't he know this woman? And at her funeral, it seems the only thing he's concerned about is his unsuccessful sermon. "Wiping the dirt from his hands" even seems to suggest he's washing his hands of responsibility to this lonely woman.

With these things in mind a spirited discussion usually develops over who is responsible for living a lonely life. Perhaps it's the lonely people themselves. Perhaps it's institutions such as the church. Perhaps it's the inconsiderateness of others.

What is meant by the line "Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name"? This has a twofold answer: that she is childless and friendless.

It's hard for me to tell if Lennon and McCartney are issuing an indictment of religion in this song, but it seems to lurk beneath the surface. One thing is certain: this seemingly simple and beautiful song is a work of poetic art. I assure you, your students will agree with that assessment.

Poetic devices

Repetition is a powerful device in this poem. The word "lonely" appears 10 times in this short song. The use of the rhetorical question is also used strongly. It suggests that the Beatles don't have all the answers, just the observations of loneliness.
This song shows assonance to a nice effect. The sustained "Ah" sound softens the tone, creates a tragic effect.

Imagery is this song's strong suit as well. Picking up rice, darning socks, wiping one's hands: these are clear and powerful images.

"Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door" is a striking metaphor for a cosmetically-dressed up face. "Lives in a dream" is another metaphor.

Consonance of the "L" sound is echoed in the line "Ah, Look at aLL the LoneLy peopLe." Perhaps this is unintentional, but it's there nonetheless.

Musical impact

This song is one where a good discussion about the importance of musical devices is in order. Anyone can hear the importance of the strings, both the violins and the cellos. Played with electric guitars, this song would have been a cartoon.

The use of harmony on the chorus is particularly striking. It's like a sad cry, a lamentation almost. Then counterbalancing that is the solo voice in the verses. This is clear singing, easy to hear the words and see the images.

It's interesting to point out to students that this song has an end, a note of finality. Many rock songs just do fade outs. By having a definite end, we are brought to a conclusion just as Eleanor Rigby's life is terminated. The last words spoken are a question.

http://entrypoints.com/RockLyrics/EleanorRigby.html

Бернард Херрманн - один из наиболее выдающийся композиторов в истории киномузыки. Сын еврейских эмигрантов из России. Автор незабываемого, леденящего душу музыкального фона фильмов Альфреда Хитчхока.

Сэмплы его произведений в формате ram можно найти здесь:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/1985/bern2.html

Наиболее близкий по звучанию к сабжу первый - "Psycho".

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/1985/psycho.rm

На а если покопаться в других отрывках, могут всплыть, например, ассоциации с саундтрэком Мартина к "Желтой подлодке"...

В рецензии на фильм "451 градус по Фаренгейту" на амазоне так написано о музыке Бернарда Херрманна

The great Bernard Herrmann wrote the hard-driving music

Видимо столь же hard-driving является и сопровождение "Eleanor Rigby" – драматическая миниатюра для скрипок и виолончелей, которую Пол Маккартни решил использовать в качестве аккомпанемента для новой песни Битлз.

На снимки момент записи саундтрэка к фильму Франсуа Трюффо – дирижирует автор музыки Херрман, позади него в светлом пиджаке режиссер Трюффо. Скоро данное произведение записанное в одной из лондонских студий услышит Пол Маккартни и примет решение "именно подобным образом звучащей песни не хватает для нашего очередого альбома".

Режиссер нововолнист Франсуа Трюффо. Кстати, некоторые из его кино-находок Битлз повторили в своих клипах - стоит обратить внимание на то, как Джон одевает солнцезащитные очки в клипе "Пенни Лэйн". Как это было снято. Такой же момент есть и в "Фаренгейте".

Херрманн и Хичкок

Отрывок начального импровизированного текста, который запомнил Донован, но напрочь забыл Маккартни:

Ola Na Tungee
Blowing his mind in the dark
With a pipe full of clay.

Donovan Leitch, Hurdy Gurdy Man (Century Books, 2005) p.76.

Пол Маккартни пожертвовал на благотворительность автограф Элеанор Ригби
http://lenta.ru/news/2008/11/11/rigby/

Что, очередной "оксюморон-яичница"? :)))

Стас:

>Кстати до сих пор не ясна доля написания этой
>песни Джоном....Пол как-то темнит...

John Lennon:
Первая строфа — Пола, а остальной текст в основном мой. Пол предложил основную тему, этот кусок об Элеонор Ригби в церкви, где было венчание.
Часть музыки этой песни мы сочинили вместе; у Пола не было средней части [поёт]: “Ah look at all the lonely people...” Мы сидели с ним и Джорджем, придумывали варианты, потом я вышел в туалет и услышал, как кто-то это сказал. И я понял, что именно этой строчки нам не хватало!
Помню, сначала у нас вместо “отца Маккензи” фигурировал “отец Маккартни”, но Пол подумал, что эта строчка может расстроить его отца.
Я не имею отношения к идее использовать скрипки и к роскошной аранжировке. Джейн Эшер, тогдашняя подруга Пола, приохотила его в Вивальди, и он взял аранжировку из его произведений [поёт, изображая игру на скрипке]: “Father McCartney, writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear...”