The Weight

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1968 song by The Band

title: "The Weight" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1968-debut-singles", "1968-songs", "1969-singles", "1993-singles", "aaron-pritchett-songs", "aretha-franklin-songs", "the-badloves-songs", "the-band-songs", "capitol-records-singles", "jimmy-barnes-songs", "nazareth,-pennsylvania", "roots-rock-songs", "song-recordings-produced-by-john-simon-(record-producer)", "songs-written-by-robbie-robertson", "the-supremes-songs", "the-temptations-songs"] description: "1968 song by The Band" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weight" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1968 song by The Band ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

FieldValue
nameThe Weight
coverThe Weight cover.jpg
altcover art
captionOriginal French single
typesingle
artistthe Band
albumMusic from Big Pink
B-sideI Shall Be Released
released
recordedJanuary 1968
studioA&R Recorders (studio A), New York City
* Country rock{{cite weburl
* roots rock{{cite bookauthor
* folk rock{{cite booklast1
length4:34
labelCapitol
writerRobbie Robertson
producerJohn Simon
next_titleUp on Cripple Creek
next_year1969
misc
::

::callout[type=note] the 1968 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 = | recorded = January 1968 | studio = A&R Recorders (studio A), New York City | genre =

"The Weight" is a song by Canadian-American rock band 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 Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time published in 2004. Pitchfork Media named it the 13th best song of the 1960s, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. PBS, which broadcast performances of the song on Ramble at the Ryman (2011), and Austin City Limits and Quick Hits (both 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."

"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. After it was released, the record debuted just six days later on KHJ's Boss 30' records" 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." American Songwriter and Stereogum both ranked the song number three on their lists of the Band's greatest songs. 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. 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.

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. Helm explained in his autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire that "Carmen" was from Helm's hometown, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, "young Anna Lee" mentioned in the third verse is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden, 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:

Legacy

In the 1969 road movie Easy Rider, the song was used as recorded by the Band, but their recording was not licensed for the later soundtrack album. To deal with this, ABC-Dunhill commissioned Smith, a band that recorded for the label at the time, to record a nearly identical cover version of the song for the soundtrack album.

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. Helm lost the lawsuit in 2012, after the court ruled that Helm had signed a contract in 1968 allowing the record label to license it at their discretion. Helm's lawyer said the label had permission to promote the music, not products. The song was featured in the films Girl, Interrupted (1999), Starsky and Hutch (2004, in reference to Easy Rider, riding similar choppers, dressed in similar costumes), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), and The King of Staten Island (2020).

Personnel

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

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.

Versions by other artists

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Footnotes

References

pl:The Weight#The Weight

References

  1. Fontenot, Robert. "What is Country Rock?". [[About.com]].
  2. Bruce Pollock. (August 26, 2005). "Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era". Routledge.
  3. (2014). "Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century". Routledge.
  4. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
  5. (August 18, 2006). "The 200 Greatest Songs of the Sixties".
  6. . (1995). ["500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll: 'The Weight'{{snd}}The Band"](http://www.rockhall.com/exhibithighlights/500-songs).
  7. Leahey, Andrew. (November 8, 2012). "Watch 'The Weight' from Austin City Limits' Americana Awards Episode".
  8. "PBS Arts: Levon Helm Performs the Weight". [[PBS]].
  9. (December 13, 2024). ""It wasn't until we listened back to it that we realized, 'Holy s***, this song's really got something.'" Robbie Robertson told us how one simple change helped the Band save "The Weight" from oblivion".
  10. (August 14, 1968). "KHJ's 'Boss 30' Records in Southern California! Official Issue No. 163". [[KHJ (AM).
  11. (August 17, 1968). "CashBox Record Reviews".
  12. Beviglia, Jim. (July 14, 2021). "The Top 20 Songs of The Band".
  13. (May 3, 2013). "The 10 Best The Band Songs". [[Stereogum]].
  14. ''[[Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band]]''
  15. Myers, Marc. (November 29, 2016). "'The Weight' by the Band's Robbie Robertson". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
  16. Margolis, Lynne. (August 30, 2012). "No False Bones: The Legacy of Levon Helm".
  17. (December 2016). "One of the Greatest Rock and Roll Songs of All Time was Inspired by a Jewish Bookseller".
  18. Guarino, Mark. (April 20, 2012). "Levon Helm and The Band: a rock parable of fame, betrayal, and redemption".
  19. Guarino, Mark. (March–April 2008). "Keeping Anna Lee Company".
  20. Grogan, Jake. (2018). "Origins of a Song". Cider Mill Press Books.
  21. (2006). "Hollywood Shack Job: Rock Music in Films & on Your Screen". UNM Press.
  22. "Easy Rider (Music from the Soundtrack)". AllMusic, Netaktion LLC.
  23. (March 2, 2012). "The Band's Levon Helm Loses BBDO Lawsuit Over 'The Weight' Cellphone Ad".
  24. Gregorian, Dareh. (March 2, 2012). "Ruling puts load on Levon".
  25. admin. (July 12, 2014). "'Carrying That Weight': A Review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes".
  26. Carlin, Shannon. (June 13, 2020). "The ''King Of Staten Island'' Soundtrack Has Big Pete Davidson Energy".
  27. (2005). "The Band: A Musical History". Capitol Records.
  28. Getlen, Larry. (April 19, 2012). "Larry Getlen's Random Thoughts: Levon Helm, RIP".
  29. (September 28, 1968). "Hot 100".
  30. Green, Elon. (June 17, 2014). "Mavis Staples Remembers Singing "The Weight"".
  31. (March 28, 2017). "Mavis Staples' All-Star Cover of 'The Weight' Brought the House Down".
  32. "Rhythm, Country & Blues – Various Artists".
  33. (March 29, 1969). "Hot 100, Rhythm & Blues Singles".
  34. (March 22, 1969). "Cash Box".
  35. "www.allmusic.com".
  36. Whitburn, Joel. (1988). "Top R&B Singles 1942–1988". [[Record Research]].
  37. "RPM 100".
  38. (October 4, 1969). "Cash Box Top 100 Singles". [[Cashbox (magazine).
  39. (September 27, 1969). "100 Top Pops: Week of September 27, 1969".
  40. (October 11, 1969). "Top 50 R&B: Week of October 11, 1969".
  41. "Flesh and Wood: Jimmy Barnes". [[AllMusic]].
  42. (November 7, 1993). "New Release Summary – Product Available from : 08/11/93: Singles".
  43. "Jimmy Barnes with The Badloves – The Weight".
  44. (December 31, 1993). "Australian Top 100 Singles 1993".
  45. "Grateful Dead Setlist at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale".
  46. "Grateful Dead Setlist at Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte".
  47. "Aaron Pritchett Chart History (Canada Country)".
  48. "Aaron Pritchett Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)".
  49. (September 18, 2019). "The Weight with Robbie Robertson and Ringo Starr".
  50. "The Weight with Robbie Robertson and Ringo Starr".

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1968-debut-singles1968-songs1969-singles1993-singlesaaron-pritchett-songsaretha-franklin-songsthe-badloves-songsthe-band-songscapitol-records-singlesjimmy-barnes-songsnazareth,-pennsylvaniaroots-rock-songssong-recordings-produced-by-john-simon-(record-producer)songs-written-by-robbie-robertsonthe-supremes-songsthe-temptations-songs