in that beatles song elanor rigby......?

Question

what does it mean when they sing:
" wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door "
im confused
@_@

and wat does it mean when:
father makenzie knots his socks in the night?

Answer 1

It's talking about the facades that we put on. Eleanor has a fake face that she put on before she leaves the house so no one knows who she really is. Father McKensie knots his socks in his sleep from anxiety that people will find out maybe he isn't as upstanding as he should be.

Answer 2

The line about the face in the jar is about how Eleanor Rigby, like so many of us, wears a mask in public to hide her true feelings. She doesn't want anyone to know who she really is, maybe because she thinks they would judge her.

Father McKenzie is darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there, what does he care? They are saying he is a lonely man, but he is trying to keep up appearances (by darning his socks), but why should he care when obviously no one else does?

Answer 3

It means she's wearing cold creme, like Noxzema. Women used to wear this at night before there were facial masks. Since this hides the facial features it can also allude to her keeping her face expressionless, hiding away all of the pain and turmoil for other's eyes.

Priest were supposed to to take a vow of poverty, therefore his socks had worn holes in them. Having no needle or thread he tied little knots in them instead where the holes were. It can mean he was trying to keep everything just so, despite what little he had.

Answer 4

She acts fake whenever she goes out of her house... like she puts on a mask whenever she goes out.

It's darning his socks- which means that he is bored/lonely.

(These are my interpretations, but Paul (who wrote it) wasn't really thinking about each line specifically... "PAUL 1966: "I was sitting at the piano when I thought of it. The first few bars just came to me, and I got this name in my head... Daisy Hawkins picks up the rice in the church. I don't know why. I couldn't think of much more so I put it away for a day. Then the name Father McCartney came to me, and all the lonely people. But I thought that people would think it was supposed to be about my Dad sitting knitting his socks. Dad's a happy lad. So I went through the telephone book and I got the name McKenzie. I was in Bristol when I decided Daisy Hawkins wasn't a good name. I walked 'round looking at the shops, and I saw the name Rigby. Then I took the song down to John's house in Weybridge. We sat around, laughing, got stoned and finished it off.""

Answer 5

She is wearing a mask, i.e. of make-up, or in a symbolic way, going out wearing a public face which she removes when she comes home. I think the jar by the door phrase was put in there partly because of the rhythm.

Answer 6

Fake emotions - fake a smile. The song is about lonely people. Like she shows her smile when she answers the door, or goes out, but she's not happy

Answer 7

It means that she doesn't let people see the real her...
she puts on a face for other people when she goes out.
Kind of like the expression, tears of a clown.

Answer 8

I think it mean either makeup or night cream. For some reason I assumed it was cold cream

Answer 9

It refers to wearing make-up- and using make-up to create a new personality for yourself - hiding behind it, if you like.

Answer 10

She is always hiding her emotions and being "fake". When she gets home her life stinks though so she is sad.