"The Weight" is a song by the Canadian-American group the Band that was released as a single in 1968 and on the group's debut album Music from Big Pink. It was their first release under this name, after their previous releases as Canadian Squires and Levon and the Hawks. Written by Band member Robbie Robertson, the song is about a visitor's experiences in a town mentioned in the lyric's first line as Nazareth. "The Weight" has significantly influenced American popular music, having been listed as No. 41 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time published in 2004.[3] Pitchfork Media named it the 13th best song of the Sixties,[4] and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[5] PBS, which broadcast performances of the song in Ramble at the Ryman (2011), Austin City Limits (2012),[6] and Quick Hits (2012), describes it as "a masterpiece of Biblical allusions, enigmatic lines and iconic characters" and notes its enduring popularity as "an essential part of the American songbook."[7]

"The Weight"
Single by the Band
from the album Music from Big Pink
B-side	"I Shall Be Released"
Released	August 8, 1968 (1968-08-08)
Recorded	January 1968
Studio	A&R Recorders (studio A), New York City
Genre	Country rock[1] roots rock[2]
Length	4:34
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Robbie Robertson
Producer(s)	John Simon
The Band singles chronology
"The Weight" (1968) "Up on Cripple Creek" (1969)
Audio sample
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"The Weight" is one of the Band's best known songs, gaining considerable album-oriented rock airplay even though it was not a significant hit single for the group in the US, peaking at only No. 63.[8] After it was released, the record debuted just six days later on KHJ's "'Boss 30' records"[9] and peaked at No. 3 there three weeks later. The Band's recording also fared well in Canada and the UK – in those countries, the single was a top 40 hit, peaking at No. 35 in Canada and No. 21 in the UK in 1968. Cash Box called it a "powerhouse performance."[10] American Songwriter and Stereogum both ranked the song number three on their lists of the Band's greatest songs.[11][12] In 1968 and 1969, three cover versions were released; their arrangements appealed to a diversity of music audiences.

Composition

Inspiration and influences

The inspiration for and influences affecting the composition of "The Weight" came from the music of the American South, the life experiences of band members, particularly Levon Helm, and movies of filmmakers Ingmar Bergman and Luis Buñuel.[13]

The original members of the Band performed "The Weight" as an American Southern folk song with country music (vocals, guitars and drums) and gospel music (piano and organ) elements. The lyrics, written in the first-person, are about a traveler's experiences arriving, visiting, and departing a town called Nazareth, in which the traveler’s friend, Fanny, has asked him to look up some of her friends. According to Robertson, Fanny is based on Frances "Fanny" Steloff, the founder of a New York City bookstore where he explored scripts by Buñuel. [14] The town is based on Nazareth, Pennsylvania, because it was the home of Martin Guitars. Robertson wrote the guitar parts on a 1951 Martin D-28.[13][14] The singers, led by Helm, vocalize the traveler's encounters with people in the town from the perspective of a Bible Belt American Southerner,[15] like Helm himself, a native of rural Arkansas.

The colorful characters in "The Weight" were based on real people that members of the Band knew, as Levon Helm explained in his autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire. In particular, "young Anna Lee" mentioned in the third verse is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden,[16] and, according to her, "Carmen" was from Helm's hometown, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas.[17] "Crazy Chester" was an eccentric resident of Fayetteville, Arkansas, who carried a cap gun. Ronnie Hawkins would tell him to "keep the peace" at his Rockwood Club when Chester arrived.

According to Robertson, "The Weight" was inspired by the movies of Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel. Buñuel's films are known for their surreal imagery and criticism of organized religion, particularly Catholicism. The song's lyrics and music invoke vivid imagery, the main character's perspective is influenced by the Bible, and the episodic story was inspired by the predicaments Buñuel's film characters faced that undermined their goals for maintaining or improving their moral character. Of this, Robertson once stated:

(Buñuel) did so many films on the impossibility of sainthood. People trying to be good in Viridiana and Nazarín, people trying to do their thing. In "The Weight" it's the same thing. People like Buñuel would make films that had these religious connotations to them but it wasn't necessarily a religious meaning. In Buñuel there were these people trying to be good and it's impossible to be good. In "The Weight" it was this very simple thing. Someone says, "Listen, would you do me this favour? When you get there will you say 'hello' to somebody or will you give somebody this or will you pick up one of these for me? Oh? You're going to Nazareth, that's where the Martin guitar factory is. Do me a favour when you're there." This is what it's all about. So the guy goes and one thing leads to another and it's like "Holy shit, what's 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.[18]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of A Musical History.[19]

• Levon Helm – lead and harmony vocals, drums
• Rick Danko – co-lead and harmony vocals, bass guitar
• Richard Manuel – Hammond organ, harmony vocals
• Garth Hudson – piano
• Robbie Robertson – acoustic guitar

Songwriting credit dispute

The songwriting credit to Robbie Robertson for "The Weight", like credit for many of the songs performed by the Band, was disputed years later by Levon Helm. Helm insisted that the composition of the lyrics and the music was collaborative, declaring that each band member made a substantial contribution. In an interview, Helm credited Robertson with 60 percent of the lyrics, Danko and Manuel with 20 percent each of the lyrics, much of the music credit to Garth Hudson, and a small credit to himself for lyrics.[20]

Versions by other artists

• The Staple Singers recorded "The Weight" for their 1968 album Soul Folk in Action, which was described as one of two album highlights in a review.[21] The group later collaborated with the Band to record a joint performance for the 1976 film The Last Waltz.[22]
• Jackie DeShannon recorded it for her 1968 album Laurel Canyon. Released as a single, it reached number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 28, 1968.[23]
• Aretha Franklin released a cover of "The Weight" in 1969, that reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on its Rhythm & Blues Singles chart on March 22, 1969.[24]
• A 1969 version by Smith is used on the Easy Rider film soundtrack.[25] The Band's record label Capitol did not allow the Band's recording to be used on the soundtrack album, so it "was replaced by a near-copy recorded by Dunhill [the soundtrack album label] act Smith".[25]
• In 1969, Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations recorded a version of "The Weight" for their album Together. Released as a single, it appeared on several charts, including numbers 46 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 and 33 on its Best Selling Soul Singles charts.[26][lower-alpha 1]
• In 2006, Canadian country music artist Aaron Pritchett covered "The Weight" on his album Big Wheel. It was released as a single and reached number six on the Billboard Canada Country chart,[31] and number 90 on the Canadian Hot 100.[32]
• In 2019, Playing for Change collaborated with Robbie Robertson and Ringo Starr to record a version of the song celebrating its fiftieth anniversary.[33]
• A 2011 live recording from Levon Helm and Mavis Staples appears on the 2022 album Carry Me Home.

References

Footnotes

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