"The Weight" (The Band)-Meaning?

Reyren

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Mar 15, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/15/97

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Does anyone know what the song "the Weight" by the band is all about???
I just worked it out and will be performing it out, so some background
would help.

Thanks

Dave

Kim and Tom Mitchell

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Mar 15, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/15/97

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I play this song a lot and the standard comment when we're done with a
particularly soulful, everybody hitting the breaks and harmony in sync
job on it is a meaningful pause then somebody saying, "What the hell is
that song about?"

If you find out, let us all know.

Tom

Jim Colegrove

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Mar 15, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/15/97

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Reyren wrote:
>
> Does anyone know what the song "the Weight" by the band is all about???
> I just worked it out and will be performing it out, so some background
> would help.
>
> Thanks
>
> Dave

Levon Helm comments on "The Weight" in his book, "This Wheel's On
Fire." He says that Nazareth is Nazareth, Pennsylvania where the Martin
Guitar factory is. The song was filled with their favorite characters.
"Luke" was Jimmy Ray Paulman, the guitar player in the early Ronnie
Hawkins band. "Young Anna Lee" was Anna Lee Williams from Turkey
Scratch, Arkansas. "Crazy Chester" was a guy from Fayetteville. He also
said Robbie was quoted as saying that "The Weight" was about the
impossibility of sainthood.
--
Jim Colegrove
co...@dfw.net
http://www.dfw.net/~coolg

Stephen L Suffet

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Mar 16, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/16/97

to Reyren

On 15 Mar 1997, Reyren wrote:

> Does anyone know what the song "the Weight" by the band is all about???
> I just worked it out and will be performing it out, so some background
> would help.
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Dave
>
>

Greetings---
I once heard Robbie Robertson say it's about taking his Martin
guitar to a custom repair shop to have the braces shaved thinner. :-)
Regards,
Steve

MCCANNCLAN

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Mar 16, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/16/97

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I like music critic Greil Marcus's interpretation: it's about obligation,
helping those in your community out. He does extract this meaning in the
context of the whole album though. check it out in his "Mystery Train"
book.

barry.

Pergamond

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Mar 19, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/19/97

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I always thought the song was Jesus complaining - at least the first
verse and chorus sound that way.

One should never ask the author of a song for it's meaning; songwriters
hate trivializing their own work (because it's so easy to do.) :-)

Leslie

Robert G McCausland

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Mar 20, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/20/97

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perg...@aol.com (Pergamond) writes:

<...>

>One should never ask the author of a song for it's meaning; songwriters
>hate trivializing their own work (because it's so easy to do.) :-)

>Leslie

Or, as Archibald MacLeish wrote (Ars Poetica, 1924):

A poem should not mean
But be.

On the sunny side,

~~Rob McCausland
rg...@world.std.com

Rick Deevey

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Mar 24, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/24/97

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On Thu, 20 Mar 1997 02:14:26 GMT, rg...@world.std.com (Robert G
McCausland) wrote:

>>One should never ask the author of a song for it's meaning; songwriters
>>hate trivializing their own work (because it's so easy to do.) :-)
>

>Or, as Archibald MacLeish wrote (Ars Poetica, 1924):
>
> A poem should not mean
> But be.

Or as Joseph Campbell once said:

"Never ask an artist what the meaning of his/her work is."
"If they want to insult you, they'll tell you."

Rick Deevey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The name of the song is called `Haddocks' Eyes'"
"Oh, that's the name of the song, is it?" Alice said, trying to feel interested.
"No, you don't understand," the Knight said, looking a little vexed.
"That's what the name is called".

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