I heard that Paul saw the name Eleanor Rigby on a gravestone in Liverpool, which to my knowledge was the inspiration for the song. Is this correct?

by Gary Goodwin
(USA)

Gary,

According to Paul in Barry Miles book "Many Years From Now"..."I'm told there's a graveyard with Eleanor Rigby on it in the graveyard where John and I used to hang out, but there could be 3000 gravestones in Britain with Eleanor Rigby on. It is possible that I saw it and subconsciously remembered it, but my conscious memory was of being stuck for a name and liking the name Eleanor, probably from Eleanor Bron, who we worked with around that time. I'd seen her at Peter Cook's Establishment Club in Greek Street, then she came on the film "Help" so we knew her quite well, John had a fling with her. I liked the name Eleanor. I wanted a genuine second name. I'm big on names, always have been, so I was very fussy to get the correct name. I was in Bristol on a visit to see Jane Asher at the Old Vic, and just walking round the dock area I saw an old shop called Rigby, and I thought, Ooooh, It's a very ordinary name yet it's a special name, it was exactly what I wanted. So Eleanor Rigby. I felt great. I'd got it! I pieced all the ideas together, got the melody and the chords, then took it to John because I hadn't finished all the words. And he and I worked on it. I had Father McCartney as the priest just because I knew that it had the right syllables, but I knew I didn't want it even though John liked it. So we opened up the telephone book, went to McCartney and looked what followed it, and shortly after it, it was McKenzie. I thought. Oh, that's good."

Good Question

Woody