I recently discovered that Beatles music can actually be a great conversation starter. I have just returned from a vacation Florida Keys with my husband and parents. One evening we were driving from Key West to our vacation home in Key Colony Beach when some Beatles music came on the radio. The song we heard was Eleanor Rigby, which comes from the 1966 album Revolver. Eleanor Rigby is a John Lennon and Paul McCartney classic. When we heard it that evening it reminded my father that he had once dated a girl called Eleanor. When he mentioned this, my mother said “Eleanor fleabag” in a disdainful tone of voice that made me laugh out loud. It turns out my father’s ex-girlfriend Eleanor had been infested with fleas. My father only realized it when he came home from a date with her and noticed black specks in his red polo-neck sweater. I never imagined that hearing Beatles music on the radio would lead to a conversation that allowed me to discover more about my parents when they were young. The experience made me wonder what other conversations Beatles music has inspired over the years.
