Songfacts®:

• Lindisfarne's frontman, Alan Hull, wrote "Lady Eleanor" during his time as a nurse at St. Nicholas Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. In this unconventional setup, LSD was given to the alcoholic patients and Hull experimented with acid.
  
  "I wrote it almost in a trance," said Hull. "It's a very mystical song, but I know it's about death."
• During his night shifts, Hull found time for extensive reading, with a particular fondness for the works of Edgar Allan Poe. It was from Poe's 1839 short story The Fall of the House of Usher that "Lady Eleanor" drew its inspiration.
• Had my share of nightmares, didn't think there could be much more
  Then in walked Rodrick Usher with the Lady Eleanor
  
  Roderick Usher and his sister Madeline Usher were members of the Usher family, residing in the decaying and mysterious House of Usher. The story revolves around the eerie atmosphere and the mental and physical decline of the Usher siblings.
  
  The song's lyrics capture the dark and gothic atmosphere of Poe's story. Phrases like "had my share of nightmares" and "the same old song I'd heard for years, reminding me of home" evoke a sense of gloom and foreboding, matching the ambiance of Poe's tales.
• "Lady Eleanor" is the opening track of Lindisfarne's debut album, Nicely Out of Tune. Although initially released as a single in May 1971 without chart success, its fate took a turn in 1972. The resurgence came on the heels of the triumph of the band's single "Meet Me On The Corner," which secured the #5 spot in the UK charts, and the widespread acclaim for their second album, Fog on the Tyne. Re-released, "Lady Eleanor" became Lindisfarne's second consecutive hit single, ascending to #3 in the UK.
• "Lady Eleanor" shows up in the American reality television series American Pickers ("The Doctor Is In" 2013).