The Weight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Weight" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by The Band | ||
| from the album Music from Big Pink | ||
| Released | June 26, 1968 | |
| Format | 45' | |
| Recorded | January 1968 | |
| Genre | Folk-Rock | |
| Length | 4:34 | |
| Label | Capitol | |
| Writer(s) | Robbie Robertson | |
| Producer(s) | John Simon | |
"The Weight" is the title of a 1968 song by The Band. It is one of the group's best known songs and among the most popular songs of the late 1960s counterculture. The song "The Weight" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[1]
The song was composed by The Band's Robbie Robertson and appears originally on The Band's first album, Music from Big Pink.
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[edit] Song theme
"The Weight" takes the folk music motif of a traveler, who arrives in Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Once there, he encounters various residents of the town, the song being a story of these encounters.
The residents include a man who cannot direct the traveler to a hotel, Carmen and the Devil walking side by side, "Crazy Chester," who offers a bed in exchange for the traveler taking his dog, and Luke who has gone out to wait for the apocalypse, leaving his young bride neglected.
The traveler refers to "Miss Fannie," who has sent him on his journey to Nazareth, and "the weight" of the song is a reference to the burden of travel, of giving a message to the town, and of sin. The chorus refers to taking a load off of Fannie and putting it on the singer. The numerous Biblical allusions in the character names and incidents in the song are allegorical, referring to a purgatorial experience.
[edit] Robertson on "The Weight"
According to Robertson, "The Weight" was somewhat inspired by the films of Luis Buñuel, about which Robertson once said: "He did so many films on the impossibility of sainthood, people trying to do good in Viridiana and Nazarín, and it's impossible to do good. In "The Weight" it's the same thing. Someone says, 'Listen, will you do me this favor? When you get there will you say "hello" to somebody or will you pick up one of these for me?' 'Oh, you're going to Nazareth, do me a favor when you're there.' So the guy goes and one thing leads to another and it's like, 'Holy shit, what has this turned into? I've only come here to say "hello" for somebody and I've got myself in this incredible predicament.' It was very Buñuelish to me at the time."
[edit] Musical construction
"The Weight" is sung primarily by Levon Helm, The Band's drummer. Rick Danko, the bassist, sings the fourth verse, and joins Helm in singing the fifth verse. The chorus is sung by all three of The Band's singers.
Each verse follows the format of:
- Chords:A, C# minor, D, A
- Lyrics: I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead";
The chorus then takes the format of:
- Chords: A, E, D, A, E, D
- Lyrics: Take a load off Fanny, take a load for free;
The easily identifiable bass run between the final verse and the chorus is up the A major pentatonic scale (i.e., A,B,C#,E,F#,A).
[edit] Film and commercial play
"The Weight" has featured prominently in many films and commercials, including such movies as Hope Floats, Igby Goes Down, The Big Chill, Easy Rider, Girl, Interrupted, Patch Adams and Starsky & Hutch, and on television in "My Name is Earl" and in a commercial by Cingular/AT&T Wireless, a telecommunications company.
The song was also included on the Easy Rider Soundtrack, but was performed by the band Smith because of contractual problems preventing use of The Band's version.
"The Weight" is one of three songs performed by The Band featured in the 2003 documentary film, "Festival Express".
"The Weight" was one of three songs the Band's 1990s lineup performed for "LET IT ROCK!"-- the birthday concert/tribute for Ronnie Hawkins.
A fan favourite, "The Weight" is also in two post-Last Waltzconcert videos: "The Band Is Back" (1984) and "The Band Live At The New Orleans Jazz Festival" (1998).
[edit] Played by other musicians
"The Weight" has been covered by many other acts, including the North Mississippi Allstars, The Staple Singers, Travis, The Grateful Dead, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, O.A.R., Edwin McCain, Spooky Tooth, Old Crow Medicine Show, Aretha Franklin, Cassandra Wilson, the band Smith, and a joint effort by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations. In The Band's concert film, The Last Waltz, The Staples and The Band perform the song together.
Levon Helm also performed the song with Ringo Starr and his All-Star Band. Josh Kelley and his backing band, The Weight, also perform this song at live shows[1].
Australian artists Jimmy Barnes and The Badloves covered this song in 1993, which charted remarkably well.
Along with Britney Spears' Toxic, Radiohead's (Nice Dream) and the traditional song The House Carpenter, Nickel Creek performed a cover of The Weight at Lollapalooza 2006
The Allman Brothers Band began to cover this song during their annual Beacon run in 2006, presumably in tribute to Duane ALLMAN, who played on the Version with Aretha Franklin.
[edit] Bands named for the song
There are three bands named after this song. The lead singer of the Athens, Georgia country band "The Weight" is Joseph Plunket, and the band's first full length album, Compass, was released in 2002 on the now-defunct 12-Volt Records. The record has been followed by several more releases to date, including 2004's Sabot Productions release, Ten Mile Grace. Plunket has since moved to New York City and re-formed the band.
A second band, normally the backing band of Josh Kelley and Curtis Peoples, is also called "The Weight" and consists of Dave Yaden, Darwin Johnson, Slim Gambill, Micheal Miley, and Donald Barret[2]. The band released their debut album "Home" in July 2006.
The Scottish band Nazareth also took their name from the first line of this song ("I pulled into Nazareth/Was feelin' half past dead...").
[edit] Popular Myth
An urban legend states that this song is actually about Bob Dylan's heroin addiction, and subsequent stay at the Nazareth Rehab Center in New Mexico.
