The Weight

{{About|the 1968 song|the 2012 South Korean film|The Weight (film)|the Sopranos episode|The Weight (The Sopranos)}}

{{Infobox song

| name = The Weight

| cover = The Weight cover.jpg

| alt = cover art

| caption = Original French single

| type = single

| artist = the Band

| album = Music from Big Pink

| B-side = I Shall Be Released

| released = {{Start date|1968|08|08}}

| recorded = January 1968

| studio = A&R Recorders (studio A), New York City

| genre =

Country rock{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/overview-of-country-rock-genre-2522362 |title=What is Country Rock? |last=Fontenot |first=Robert |department=ThoughtCo. |publisher=About.com|access-date= March 12, 2017}}
roots rock{{cite book |author=Bruce Pollock |title=Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxYiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA398 |date=August 26, 2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415970730 |page=398}}
folk rock{{cite book |last1=Valdez |first1=Steve |editor1-last=Henderson |editor1-first=Lol |editor2-last=Stacey |editor2-first=Lee |title=Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-1-135-92946-6 |page=223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8W2AgAAQBAJ |chapter=Folk rock}}

| length = 4:34

| label = Capitol

| writer = Robbie Robertson

| producer = John Simon

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Up on Cripple Creek

| next_year = 1969

| misc = {{External music video|header=Audio|1={{YouTube|xLFAQuWFcTo|"The Weight" by the Band}}}}

}}

"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.{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11028260/the_rs_500_greatest_songs_of_all_time/1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070416005906/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11028260/the_rs_500_greatest_songs_of_all_time/1|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 16, 2007 |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |publisher=RollingStone.com|access-date=2007-06-02}} Pitchfork Media named it the 13th best song of the 1960s,{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6405-the-200-greatest-songs-of-the-1960s/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090317210322/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6405-the-200-greatest-songs-of-the-1960s/ |archive-date=17 March 2009 |url-status=dead |title=The 200 Greatest Songs of the Sixties |website=Pitchfork |date=August 18, 2006|access-date=2022-11-06}}{{cbignore}} and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs |author= |title=500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll: 'The Weight'{{snd}}The Band| website = Rockhall.com| year = 1995| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070704201219/http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs-by-name-tv/| archive-date = July 4, 2007| access-date = September 20, 2022}} PBS, which broadcast performances of the song on Ramble at the Ryman (2011), Austin City Limits (2012),{{cite magazine |last=Leahey |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Leahey |url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/11/watch-the-weight-from-austin-city-limits-americana-awards-episode/ |title=Watch 'The Weight' From Austin City Limits' Americana Awards Episode |magazine=American Songwriter |date=2012-11-08 |access-date=2016-10-02}} 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."{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/arts/gallery/quick-hits-levon-helm-theweight/quick-hits-levon-helm-theweight/ |title=PBS Arts : Levon Helm Performs the Weight |website=PBS |access-date=2013-01-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413225845/http://www.pbs.org/arts/gallery/quick-hits-levon-helm-theweight/quick-hits-levon-helm-theweight/ |archive-date=2012-04-13}}

"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.Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 8th edition After it was released, the record debuted just six days later on KHJ's {{"'}}Boss 30' records"{{cite web |url=http://www.oldiesloon.com/ca/khj081468.htm |title=KHJ's 'Boss 30' Records In Southern California! Official Issue No. 163 |publisher=KHJ |date=1968-08-14|access-date=2019-08-29}} and peaked at No. 3 there three weeks later. The Band's recording also fared well in Canada and the UK, peaking at No. 35 in Canada and No. 21 in the UK in 1968. Cash Box called it a "powerhouse performance."{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=August 17, 1968 |page=18 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1968/CB-1968-08-17.pdf |magazine=Cash Box}} American Songwriter and Stereogum both ranked the song number three on their lists of the Band's greatest songs.{{cite magazine |url=https://americansongwriter.com/the-top-20-songs-of-the-band/ |title=The Top 20 Songs Of The Band |first=Jim |last=Beviglia |magazine=American Songwriter |date=14 July 2021 |access-date=April 29, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1338891/the-10-best-the-band-songs/lists/ |title=The 10 Best The Band Songs |first1=Timothy |last1=Bracy |first2=Elizabeth |last2=Bracy |work=Stereogum |date=May 3, 2013 |accessdate=April 29, 2022}} In 1968 and 1969, three cover versions were released; their arrangements appealed to a wide diversity of music audiences.

Composition

"The Weight" was written by Robbie Robertson, who found the tune by strumming idly on his guitar, a 1951 Martin D-28, when he noticed that the interior included a stamp noting that it was manufactured in Nazareth, Pennsylvania (C. F. Martin & Company is situated there), and he started crafting the lyrics as he played.Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band{{cite news |last=Myers |first=Marc |author-link=Marc Myers |date=November 29, 2016 |title='The Weight' by the Band's Robbie Robertson |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-weight-by-the-bands-robbie-robertson-1480436811 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221112221123/https://archiveiya74codqgiixo33q62qlrqtkgmcitqx5u2oeqnmn5bpcbiyd.onion/20220226151230/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/the-weight-by-the-bands-robbie-robertson-1480436811 |archive-date=November 12, 2022 |access-date=September 9, 2021 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}} 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. 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 arrival, visit, and departure from a town called Nazareth, in which the traveler's friend, Fanny, has asked him to look up some of her friends and send them her regards, though with each encounter, he comes away with more favors he must do, and those favors become more favors, until the weight of doing so many unexpected tasks causes him to pick up his bag and leave town altogether and return to Fanny. The singers, led by Helm, vocalize the traveler's encounters with people in the town from the perspective of a Bible Belt American Southerner, like Helm himself, a native of rural Arkansas.{{cite magazine |last=Margolis |first=Lynne |date=2012-08-30 |title=No False Bones: The Legacy of Levon Helm |url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/08/no-false-bones-the-legacy-of-levon-helm/2/ |access-date=2016-10-02 |magazine=American Songwriter |page=2}}

The characters in "The Weight" were based on real people that members of the Band knew, according to Robertson, Fanny is based on Frances "Fanny" Steloff, the founder of a New York City bookstore where he explored scripts by Buñuel.{{cite web |last1=Rogovoy |first1=Seth |date=December 2016 |title=One of the Greatest Rock and Roll Songs of All Time was Inspired by a Jewish Bookseller |url=https://forward.com/culture/music/355808/one-of-the-greatest-rock-and-roll-songs-of-all-time-was-inspired-by-a/ |access-date=1 Sep 2022 |website=Forward |ref=Rogovoy}} Helm explained in his autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire that "Carmen" was from Helm's hometown, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas,{{cite news |last=Guarino |first=Mark |date=20 April 2012 |title=Levon Helm and The Band: a rock parable of fame, betrayal, and redemption |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Music/2012/0420/Levon-Helm-and-The-Band-a-rock-parable-of-fame-betrayal-and-redemption |access-date=26 October 2023 |website=The Christian Science Monitor}} "young Anna Lee" mentioned in the third verse is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden,{{cite magazine |last=Guarino |first=Mark |date=March–April 2008 |title=Keeping Anna Lee Company |url=http://archives.nodepression.com/2008/03/screen-door-from-issue-74/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729150733/http://archives.nodepression.com/2008/03/screen-door-from-issue-74/ |archive-date=2013-07-29 |department=Screen Door |magazine=No Depression |issue=74 |access-date=2013-01-26}} and, according to her, "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 surreal imagery of Buñuel's films, specifically their 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:

{{Blockquote|(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.{{Cite book |last=Grogan |first=Jake |year=2018 |title=Origins of a Song |location=Kennebunkport, Maine |publisher=Cider Mill Press Books |isbn=978-1604337754 |pages=49–50}}}}

Legacy

The road movie Easy Rider (1969) used the song as recorded by the Band, but it was not licensed for the soundtrack album. To deal with this, ABC-Dunhill commissioned Smith, who recorded for the label at the time, to record a cover version of the song for the soundtrack album.{{cite book |last1=Kubernik |first1=Harvey |title=Hollywood Shack Job: Rock Music in Films & on Your Screen |date=2006 |publisher=UNM Press |isbn=9780826335425 |page=105}}{{cite web |last1=Ruhlmann |first1=William |title=Easy Rider (Music from the Soundtrack) |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/easy-rider-music-from-the-soundtrack-mw0000049299 |accessdate=18 October 2020 |website=AllMusic |publisher=AllMusic, Netaktion LLC}}

Several commercials have featured the song, including one by Cingular Wireless in 2004 that led to a lawsuit from Helm against advertising agency BBDO, claiming that he did not permit them the rights to use the song.{{Cite web |agency=Associated Press |date=2012-03-02 |title=The Band’s Levon Helm Loses BBDO Lawsuit Over ‘The Weight’ Cellphone Ad |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/the-bands-levon-helm-loses-bbdo-lawsuit-over-the-weight-cellphone-ad-1098616/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Billboard |language=en-US}} Helm would lose the lawsuit in 2012, after the court rules that BBDO said that Helm signed a contract in 1968 allowing the record label to license it at their discretion.{{Cite web |last=Gregorian |first=Dareh |date=2012-03-02 |title=Ruling puts load on Levon |url=https://nypost.com/2012/03/02/ruling-puts-load-on-levon/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |language=en-US}}

The song was featured in the films Girl, Interrupted (1999), Starsky and Hutch (2004), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014),{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2014-07-12 |title=‘Carrying That Weight’: A Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes |url=https://locusmag.com/2014/07/carrying-that-weight-a-review-of-dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes/ |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=Locus Online |language=en-US}} and The King of Staten Island (2020).{{Cite web |last=Carlin |first=Shannon |title=The "King Of Staten Island" Soundtrack Has Big Pete Davidson Energy |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/06/9852266/king-of-staten-island-soundtrack-songs-list#slide-26 |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=www.refinery29.com |language=en}}

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of A Musical History.{{cite AV media notes |title=The Band: A Musical History |others=The Band |year=2005 |type=CD |publisher=Capitol Records |id=72435-77409-0-6 CCAP77409-6}}

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.{{cite web |last=Getlen |first=Larry |date=2012-04-19 |title=Larry Getlen's Random Thoughts: Levon Helm, RIP |url=http://www.larrygetlen.com/2012/04/19/levon-helm-rip/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225102201/http://www.larrygetlen.com/2012/04/19/levon-helm-rip/ |archive-date=2017-02-25 |access-date=2016-10-02 |website=Larrygetlen.com}}

Versions by other artists

{{External media

|width=282px

|video1={{YouTube|tmQHa1dPGMQ|"The Weight" (visualizer) by the Staple Singers}}

|audio1={{YouTube|h7cGWmMM6Vs|"The Weight" (from The Last Waltz) by the Band featuring the Staple Singers}}

|audio2={{YouTube|A8amTtY_ilE|"The Weight" by Aretha Franklin}}

|audio3={{YouTube|0JvWTvG9V_A|"The Weight" by Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations}}

}}

Jackie DeShannon recorded "The Weight" for her 1968 album Laurel Canyon. Released as a single, it reached number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 28, 1968.{{Cite magazine |date=September 28, 1968 |title=Hot 100 |magazine=Billboard |volume=80 |issue=39 |issn=0006-2510 |page=82}}
The Staple Singers recorded it, which was released on their 1968 album Soul Folk in Action. Later, as part of the production of the concert film The Last Waltz, the group recorded a performance of the song with the Band,{{Cite magazine |last=Green |first=Elon |date=2014-06-17 |title=Mavis Staples Remembers Singing "The Weight" |language=en-US |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/mavis-staples-remembers-singing-the-weight |access-date=2023-08-10 |issn=0028-792X}} and the song has continued to be closely associated with Mavis Staples.{{Cite web |date=March 28, 2017 |title=Mavis Staples' All-Star Cover of 'The Weight' Brought the House Down |url=https://uproxx.com/music/mavis-staples-the-weight-tweedy-arcade-fire-emmylou-harris/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Uproxx |language=en-US}} The Staple Singers performed the song with Marty Stuart for the 1994 compilation album Rhythm, Country and Blues, which paired country singers with R&B singers.{{Cite web |title=Rhythm, Country & Blues – Various Artists |language=en-US |website=Allmusic.com |access-date=2024-09-17 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/rhythm-country-and-blues-mw0000623240}}
Aretha Franklin released a cover of "The Weight" in 1969, with Duane Allman on slide guitar,{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-girls-in-love-with-you-mw0000105942 |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger |title=This Girl's in Love with You{{snd}}Review

|website=AllMusic

|access-date=August 24, 2023

}} that reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on its Rhythm & Blues Singles chart on March 29, 1969.{{Cite magazine |date=March 29, 1969 |title=Hot 100, Rhythm & Blues Singles |magazine=Billboard |volume=81 |issue=13 |page=39}} The song is included on her 1970 album This Girl's in Love with You.

In 1969, Diana Ross & the Supremes and the Temptations recorded a version of "The Weight" for their album Together.{{cite web |title=www.allmusic.com |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/together-mw0000201650 |website=allmusic.com |accessdate=September 21, 2023}} 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.{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel| author-link = Joel Whitburn |year=1988 |entry=The Supremes |title=Top R&B Singles 1942–1988 |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin |publisher=Record Research |isbn=0-89820-068-7 |page=396}}{{efn|Also reached {{Numero|36}} in Canada,{{Cite magazine |title=RPM 100 |issue=6093 |magazine=RPM |url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6093&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6093.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6093 |page=5 |via=Library and Archives Canada}} {{Numero|39}} on U.S. Cashbox Top 100,{{Cite web |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/19691004.html |title=Cash Box Top 100 Singles |work=Cashbox |date=October 4, 1969|access-date=December 31, 2020}} {{Numero|37}} on U.S. Record World 100 Top Pops,{{Cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Record-World-IDX/IDX/60s/69/Record-World-1969-09-27-OCR-Page-0029.pdf#search=%22supremes%20the%20weight%22 |title=100 Top Pops: Week of September 27, 1969 |magazine=Record World |date=September 27, 1969|access-date=January 29, 2021}} and {{Numero|21}} on U.S. Record World Top 50 R&B.{{Cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Record-World-IDX/IDX/60s/69/Record-World-1969-10-11-OCR-Page-0039.pdf#search=%22supremes%20the%20weight%22 |title=Top 50 R&B: Week of October 11, 1969 |page=41 |magazine=Record World |date=October 11, 1969|access-date=January 29, 2021}}}}
The Grateful Dead began performing "The Weight" during their live shows in 1990, debuting the song on March 28, 1990, at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.{{Cite web |title=Grateful Dead Setlist at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale |url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/grateful-dead/1990/nassau-veterans-memorial-coliseum-uniondale-ny-bd6016e.html |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=setlist.fm |language=en}} Over the next five years, they performed the song 41 times. Their final rendition took place on March 23, 1995, at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.{{Cite web |title=Grateful Dead Setlist at Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte |url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/grateful-dead/1995/charlotte-coliseum-charlotte-nc-23d600fb.html |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=setlist.fm |language=en}}
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,{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaron-pritchett/chart-history/ccw/ |title=Aaron Pritchett Chart History (Canada Country) |magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 22, 2023|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118035523/https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaron-pritchett/chart-history/ccw/|archive-date=November 18, 2021}} and number 90 on the Canadian Hot 100.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/aaron-pritchett/chart-history/can/ |title=Aaron Pritchett Chart History (Canadian Hot 100) |magazine=Billboard|access-date=July 9, 2021}}
In September 2019, Robertson and Ringo Starr, along with musicians from four continents, compiled an eclectic version of "The Weight"{{Cite web |title=The Weight with Robbie Robertson and Ringo Starr |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ |website=Playing for Change |date=18 September 2019}} for Playing for Change.{{Cite web |title=The Weight with Robbie Robertson and Ringo Starr |url=https://www.youtube.com/user/playingforchange |website=Playing for Change}}

References

Footnotes

Category:1968 songs

Category:1968 debut singles

Category:1969 singles

Category:1993 singles

Category:The Band songs

Category:Aaron Pritchett songs

Category:Aretha Franklin songs

Category:The Supremes songs

Category:The Temptations songs

Category:Songs written by Robbie Robertson

Category:Nazareth, Pennsylvania

Category:Song recordings produced by John Simon (record producer)

Category:Capitol Records singles

Category:Roots rock songs

pl:The Weight#The Weight