"Lady Eleanor" is a song written by Alan Hull, featured on the first

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

album, '' Nicely Out of Tune''. Initially released as a single in May 1971, it failed to chart. In 1972, following the success of the band's single "Meet me on the Corner" (which reached No. 5 in the UK), and the highly successful second album '' Fog on the Tyne'', it was re-released and became their second consecutive hit single, reaching Number 3 in the UK charts. Its B-Side was "Nothing But the Marvellous is Beautiful". The song features the folk rock band Lindisfarne's characteristic combination of

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

playing (by Ray Jackson) and close harmony singing. Its lyrics are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's 1839 short story " The Fall of the House of Usher". The verse is in the key of B minor, while the chorus is in the

relative Relative may refer to: General use *Kinship and family, the principle binding the most basic social units society. If two people are connected by circumstances of birth, they are said to be ''relatives'' Philosophy *Relativism, the concept that ...

key of D major. Simon Cowe's lead guitar work betrays the influence of Peter Green, while the song's instrumental coda - like Green's hit composition " Man of the World" - ends on a D major sixth chord.

Charts

Cover versions

The song has been covered by a number of acts, including Caterina Caselli,

American Gypsy American Gypsy is a funk music group formed in Los Angeles that achieved its greatest success in the Netherlands. In 1974, they had a top ten hit on the Single Top 100 Dutch pop music chart. The group has performed under various names, including: ...

and Lemon.Lindisfarne songs covered by other artists
''lindisfarne.co.uk''

References

1972 singles Lindisfarne (band) songs Music based on works by Edgar Allan Poe Charisma Records singles Philips Records singles Elektra Records singles {{1970s-single-stub