The Band - The Weight

title : The Weight
artist : The Band
year : 1968
chart : #63 (US), #35 (Canada), #21 (UK)
album : Music From Big Pink

for "The Weight" :
Rick Danko- Bass guitar, backing vocal, lead vocal on fourth verse
Levon Helm- Drums, lead vocals
Garth Hudson- Piano
Richard Manuel- Hammond organ (mixed low), backing vocal
Robbie Robertson- Acoustic guitar

about The Band:
Rick Danko
Levon Helm
Garth Hudson
Richard Manuel
Robbie Robertson

The Band were probably the best five musicians ever assembled in one rock band.
All five were multi-talented with instruments, and between the five members they could play about thirty different instruments.
Garth Hudson leading the way ...
Helm, Danko, Manuel with their three good voices ...
and Robertson writing most of the stuff.

about the song :
"The Weight" is one of the group's best known songs and among the most popular songs of the late 1960s counterculture.
No fewer than three cover versions of "The Weight" actually charted higher on the US pop charts in 1968/69 than The Band's original recording:
- 1968: Jackie DeShannon took the song to #55 US, #35 Canada.
- 1969: A joint effort by Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations hit #46 US, #36 Canada.
- 1969: Aretha Franklin's version was the highest charting recording. #19 US, #12 Canada.
- None of these cover versions charted in the UK.

Accolades:
The song is #41 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, published in 2004.

songfacts :
On the original single issue, the artist credit simply lists the names of the five members of The Band; the group name "The Band" does not appear.
Nazareth, where the story takes place, refers to the town in Pennsylvania about 70 miles north of Philadelphia. The rock group Nazareth got their name from this line ("Went down to Nazareth, I was feeling about half past dead..."). In the liner notes for the Across the Great Divide box set, Robbie is quoted as saying that he chose that place because they make legendary Martin Guitars there, so he was aware of the place and been there once or twice.

Robertson on "The Weight":
According to songwriter Robertson, "The Weight" was inspired by the films of Luis Buñuel, about which Robertson once said: (Buñuel) did so many films on the impossibility of sainthood. People trying to be good in Viridiana and Nazarin, 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.
Only in this case, the traveler encounters the favor-asking people in Nazareth itself.

Levon Helm's autobiography This Wheel's On Fire: Levon Helm And The Story Of The Band on "The Weight":
The characters in the song - Crazy Chester, Luke, Anna Lee, are based on friends of the band. In Levon Helm's autobiography This Wheel's On Fire: Levon Helm And The Story Of The Band, he explained:
"We had two or three tunes, or pieces of tunes, and "The Weight" was one I would work on. Robbie had that bit about going down to Nazareth - Pennsylvania, where the Martin guitar factory is at. The song was full of our favorite characters. "Luke" was Jimmy Ray Paulman. "Young Anna Lee" was Anna Lee Williams from Turkey Scratch. "Crazy Chester" was a guy we all knew from Fayetteville who came into town on Saturdays wearing a full set of cap guns on his hips and kinda walked around town to help keep the peace,if you follow me. He was like Hopalong Cassidy, and he was a friend of the Hawks. Ronnie would always check with Crazy Chester to make sure there wasn't any trouble around town. And Chester would reassure him that everything was peaceable and not to worry, because he was on the case. Two big cap guns, he wore, plus a toupee! There were also "Carmen and the Devil", "Miss Moses" and "Fanny," a name that just seemed to fit the picture. (I believe she looked a lot like Caladonia.) We recorded the song maybe four times. We weren't really sure it was going to be on the album, but people really liked it. Rick, Richard, and I would switch the verses around among us, and we all sang the chorus: Put the load right on me!"

Martin Scorsese, The Band - The Last Waltz:
On the commentary track for The Last Waltz, you can hear the normally loquacious Martin Scorsese stumble to a halt in is commentary as he tries to describe what this song is about. That's why I love this song; it always feels like there?s another level to it that I haven't figured out yet. Also, I think the version with the Staples Singers is the best. When Pops chimes in with "Hey Luke, my friend" I get a chill.

Film and Commercial Play:
"The Weight" has featured prominently in many films and television shows, inc such movies as:
- Hope Floats
- Igby Goes Down (in a cover version by rock band Travis)
- The Big Chill
- Easy Rider (Soundtrack version was performed by the band Smith because of contractual problems preventing use of The Band's version. The Band's version is the one that appears in the movie)
- Girl, Interrupted
- Patch Adams
- 1408
- Starsky & Hutch (as a parody of the scene in Easy Rider)
and on television:
- The Sopranos (Episode 4 of Season 4 is titled "The Weight")
- My Name Is Earl
- Sports Night
- It also appeared in an SNL skit, when Zach Braff hosted
commercials:
- Diet Coke
- Cingular/AT&T Wireless, an American telecommunications company.

"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!", a birthday concert/tribute for Ronnie Hawkins.
A fan favourite, "The Weight" is also in two post-Last Waltz concert videos: "The Band Is Back" (1984) and "The Band Live At The New Orleans Jazz Festival" (1998).

Cover versions (truncated list):
Van Morrison
Little Feat
The Staple Singers, Soul Folk In Action (1968)
Marty Stuart & The Staple Singers, Rhythm Country And Blues (1994)
Travis, "Coming Around" B-side (2000)
Grateful Dead
O.A.R.
Edwin McCain
Rooney
The Black Crowes
Aretha Franklin (Feb 1969)
Joan Osborne, How Sweet It Is (2002)
John Denver
Dionne Warwick, From Within (1972)
Smith, Easy Rider Soundtrack (1969)
Weezer, Weezer [The Red Album] [Japan] (June 4, 2008)
Diana Ross & the Supremes, with The Temptations, Together (June 1969)
The Allman Brothers Band
The Derek Trucks Band
The Marshall Tucker Band
Jimmy Barnes with The Badloves, Flesh And Wood (1993)
Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs & Englishmen (1970)
Jeff Healey, Mess Of Blues (2008)
Uncle Kracker, My Name Is Earl - The Album (2006)
Michelle Shocked, ToHeavenURide (2007)
Bob Dylan has covered the song live.
At the end of the movie It Might Get Loud Jack White, Jimmy Page and The Edge play The Weight acoustically while swapping vocals
In The Band's concert film, The Last Waltz, The Staples and The Band perform the song together.


lyrics :
I pulled in to Nazareth, was feeling 'bout half past dead
I just need some place where I can lay my head
"Hey mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?''
He just grinned and shook my hand, "No'' was all he said

Take a load off, Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Fanny
And you put the load right on me

I picked up my bag, I went looking for a place to hide
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walking side by side
I said "Hey Carmen, come on, let's go downtown''
She said "I gotta go but my friend can stick around.''

Take a load off, Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Fanny
And you put the load right on me

Go down Miss Moses, there's nothing you can say
It's just old Luke, and Luke's waiting on the judgment day
"Well, Luke my friend, what about young Anna-Lee?''
He said "Do me a favour son, won't you stay and keep Anna-Lee company?''

Take a load off, Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Fanny
And you put the load right on me

Crazy Chester followed me and he caught me in the fog
He said "I will fix your rack if you'll take Jack my dog.''
I said "Wait a minute Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man.''
He said "That's okay boy, won't you feed him when you can?''

Take a load off, Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Fanny
And you put the load right on me

Catch a cannonball now to take me down the line
My bag is sinking low and I do believe it's time
To get back to Miss Fanny, you know she's the only one
Who sent me here with her regards for everyone

Take a load off, Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off, Fanny
And you put the load right on me

Audio Clips:
The Band, Music From Big Pink


The Band with The Staples, The Last Waltz (1978)


others :
Bob Dylan & The Band (live)
Smith, Easy Rider Soundtrack (1969)
Travis, "Coming Around" B-side (2000)
Weezer, The Red Album (2008)
John Denver (live) (1969)
Marty Stuart & The Staple Singers, Rhythm Country And Blues (1994)
Joan Osborne, How Sweet It Is (2002)
O.A.R. (live)
Little Feat (live)




YouTube:
The Band with The Staples, The Last Waltz


The Band, Easy Rider movie


The Band, @ Woodstock, [songs starts around the 1:24 mark]


The Band, Live @ Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, Nov 1970


The Band


From Ronnie Hawkins 60th birthday bash at Massey Hall in Toronto


The Band, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson (backed by Blue Rodeo) at Canada's Juno Awards for the Induction of The Band into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, 12 March 1989


The Last Waltz Ensemble [tribute band to Bob Dylan and The Band] *great cover*
The Last Waltz Ensemble were formed in 2004 and based in Atlanta Georgia.


Jeff Healey


Marty Stuart & The Staple Singers, on Country Music Spotlight 1995