| Info |
Big ups to George Martin, who wrote the score for the eight-piece string section (four violins, two cellos, and two violas) floating behind Paul McCartney's libretto (with assistance from John Lennon and George Harrison on the harmonizing and background vocals). The meditation on loneliness is just over two minutes long, but the characters are fleshed out so strongly that each individual feels packed with a novel's worth of details. When the stars come together-- "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"-- think back to Rigby cleaning up the post-wedding rice. She and McKenzie partake in these solitary rituals constantly-- never finding a conscious overlap. Seems bizarre that it was released as a single with "Yellow Submarine": Let's paint the Revolver black.
(Brandon Stosuy) |
