Paul McCartney on Writing “Eleanor Rigby”

  • 📰 NewYorker
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 86 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 38%
  • Publisher: 67%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

John Lennon “could be quite caustic and witty, but once you got to know him he had this lovely warm character,” Paul McCartney writes. “I was more the opposite.”

My mum’s favorite cold cream was Nivea, and I love it to this day. That’s the cold cream I was thinking of in the description of the face Eleanor keeps “in a jar by the door.” I was always a little scared by how often women used cold cream.

It’s like the story of the name Eleanor Rigby on a marker in the graveyard at St. Peter’s Church in Woolton, which John and I certainly wandered around, endlessly talking about our future. I don’t remember seeing the grave there, but I suppose I might have registered it subliminally. A week or so later, I was out on my bike and bumped into Pete Shotton, who was the Quarry Men’s washboard player—a very important instrument in a skiffle band. He and I got talking, and he told me that John thought I should join them. That was a very John thing to do—have someone else ask me so he wouldn’t lose face if I said no. John often had his guard up, but that was one of the great balances between us.

To this very day, it still is a complete mystery to me that it happened at all. Would John and I have met some other way, if Ivan and I hadn’t gone to that fête? I’d actually gone along to try and pick up a girl. I’d seen John around—in the chip shop, on the bus, that sort of thing—and thought he looked quite cool, but would we have ever talked? I don’t know. As it happened, though, I had a school friend who knew John. And then I also happened to share a bus journey with George to school.

So my life is full of these happy accidents, and, coming back to where the name Eleanor Rigby comes from, my memory has me visiting Bristol, where Jane Asher was playing at the Old Vic. I was wandering around, waiting for the play to finish, and saw a shop sign that read “Rigby,” and I thought, That’s it! It really was as happenstance as that. When I got back to London, I wrote the song in Mrs. Asher’s music room in the basement of 57 Wimpole Street, where I was living at the time.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

They look impossibly young.

** 53rd anniversary of his quitting the band today

The Beatles are overrated, far behind Elvis, stones

Wonder how it worked out. 🤔😃

'A long and winding road'

senorcoffee ohmygoodness, they look about 13 years old here!

Amazing photo - kiddos...

Moonalice This is great. Check out the Ray Charles cover while you’re in the mood.

Jar of Nivea cream? Smoooth!

“Eleanor” was always part of the equation, I think, because we had worked with Eleanor Bron on the film “Help!” and we knew her from the Establishment, Peter Cook’s club, on Greek Street. I think John might have dated her for a short while” Wasn’t JL married at this time?

Please for the love of all just ask Paul about more than just the Beatles. My man has lived such a great and adventurous life with many more stories to tell than the same ones we’ve heard over and over.

Have always thought Paul was a competitive prick underneath all that studied politeness.

hmm eleanor rigby ? never heard that song hows it sound good

Just loved reading that from Paul - not got that lyrics book yet but it must be good - going from his recollections of writing ‘Eleanor Rigby’

PM was the weak link of the Beatles. Me me me and all of his syrupy compositions were too much for me. John Lenon was the opposite, to me anyway.

“Warm” is how you say “abuser” over at the New Yorker?

drugs, will do that to a person. Make you get naked too

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 90. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Filmmaker and Film-Educator Paul Stekler Says Goodbye to UTAs Paul Stekler delivers his final class, the former head of UT-Austin’s Department of Radio-Television-Film gives a commencement speech looking back on a career without a plan.
Source: AustinChronicle - 🏆 593. / 51 Read more »

South Jersey suffragist hero Alice Paul gets star treatment in the hot NYC musical ‘SUFFS’In real life and in the NYC musical 'SUFFS,' South Jersey’s own Alice Paul didn’t get to finish her fight. No one else has, either. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which Paul helped to write, has yet to become reality.
Source: PhillyInquirer - 🏆 81. / 68 Read more »

With a Jean Paul Gaultier Collection, Lotta Volkova Aims for Shock, Awe, and Eccentricity'With a Jean Paul Gaultier collection, Lotta Volkova aims for shock, awe, and eccentricity.' Read steffyotka's full review on the capsule collection: steffyotka Immediately no.
Source: VogueRunway - 🏆 705. / 51 Read more »

Paul Vallas: It will take proactive policing to defend downtown ChicagoThe economic heart of Chicago is in cardiac arrest as escalating violent crime threatens to turn downtown into a ghost town, writes Paul Vallas, the former budget director for the city of Chicago and CEO of Chicago Public Schools. Where's Voight when you need him?!
Source: chicagotribune - 🏆 8. / 91 Read more »

Cam Johnson recalls girlfriend's fan run-in during NBA Finals after Chris Paul incidentPHOENIX — Cam Johnson understands how Chris Paul felt about his family being harassed at Sunday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals in Dallas.
Source: TucsonStar - 🏆 339. / 59 Read more »

Suns' Chris Paul expresses support for Brittney Griner amid her detention: 'Everyone just wants her home'Chris Paul and the Suns appeared to be the first members of the NBA to openly keep Brittney Griner on the top of their minds since the Phoenix Mercury star was arrested in Moscow.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »