“All the Lonely People”
(Pondering the Message of Eleanor Rigby)
by Paul Tuck
(Note: It would be more effective to actually play this song to the group before talking about it)
The song Eleanor Rigby is the tragic interweaving of two lonely lives. Father McKenzie works hard pastoring his small church, but has little to show for it. Eleanor Rigby, one of his parishioners lives a lonely existence and only imagines what life would be like with a companionship. The two lives only intersect at the death of Eleanor, where the priest wipes the dirt from his hands and Eleanor has been buried “along with her name.” It’s really a sad song, and a sad commentary on the prevalence of loneliness.
REFLECTION QUESTION: Can you share a time when you felt really lonely? OR Share a time when you were alone, yet did not feel lonely (and perhaps say why you don’t think you were lonely)