[Publius]

George Martin came to the Beatles as a veteran of the classical side of British Decca. He was the key player in the 3 Beatles songs backed by string quartet: "Yesterday," "Eleanor Rigby," and "She's Leaving Home."

My late mother was haunted by both the melody and lyrics of "Eleanor Rigby."

Martin was following a path trod by other great composers, such as Samuel Barber and Ernest Chausson. Here's an example of a Matthew Arnold poem set to music in 1936 by Barber.

Barber: "Dover Beach"

[STARLIT]

Thanks..listening now.

[hoosiermama]

In college as a music theory final we were given two compositions to analyze both melodically and harmonically. The first was easy. We all finished it quickly. The second no one finishes. Lots of erasing and staring over.
Ten minutes before class ended (no one was allowed to leave) the professor stopped us and proceeded with the lesson. Both compositions were written when the composer were the same age. Both were Europeans and both were the dance or popular songs of the youth. He said when people looked back on the twentieth century the second would be the master of our time
The easy one by ,Mozart the second one “Eleanor Rigby”. It had just come on the market. He left us with a copy of the words telling us it would take the rest of our lives to figure its meaning out. IT has.

[Jane Long]

I cry every time I hear “She’s Leaving Home”.