| The Band – The Weight Lyrics | 18 years ago |
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To me, "the weight" described in the song is the responsibility of the people in the living world. The singer has recently "left his body" but is in a place between life and death, soon to face judgement. "Ms. Fanny, who the narrator offers to take the 'load' for, is someone close to him, perhaps a lover or possibly some other family member. Fanny had died previously and left her responsibilities to the author. 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 The narrator is very tired from the weights of the world, and wants to rest. Currently he's in Nazareth. which I think means he's between earth and heaven. There's no rest for this man yet, he must first face judgement. 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'' Carmen hanging with the Devil might mean she's destined for hell. As for the author wanting to hide, it might mean that he doesn't want to face judgement yet, indeed he says he's looking for a place to hide. The devil might be sticking around to usher in his new captives who are judged unworthy of heaven. Go down Miss Moses, there's nothing you can say It's just old Luke, and Luke's waiting on the judgement 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?'' Miss Moses might be Anna-Lee's mother, who is trying to convince Luke to return to life. Clearly Luke is in line for judgement and in the same situation as the narrator. He's decided to stay to face judgement, but asks the narrator to stay and keep anna-lee company. Perhaps Anna-Lee is Luke's daughter in the living world, and he wants the narrator to look after her when he's gone. Also, Miss Moses might be in line for judgement but less willing to accept it. I'm not sure what "go down" means between Miss Moses and Luke, and the relationship between them. Crazy Chester followed me and he caught me in the fog He said ``I will fix your rat 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?'' This is the easiest of the segments to understand. Chester is dead, and he asks the narrator to stay alive to look after his dog. The narrator says hes a peaceful man, which might mean that he doesn't want to fight against death. But, Chester says feed him WHEN you can, which confuses me. If it were IF, it fit better with my interpretation. Still, though, i think that Chester asks the narrator to return to life to look after his dog. 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 The line might be a mass transit system in Nazareth, or it might actually be a waiting line to judgement. Either way, the cannonball, whatever it is, it might be a train, has taken him to judgement. The last line, about Fanny sending the narrator to Nazareth, makes me think that he was killed by Fanny, but more possibly, he committed suicide because of her death and because of the weight she left behind. Or, he may have died of depression, without killing himself. Either way, it's clear Fanny is involved in his death, but it's also pretty certain that Fanny herself is dead, because he's going to "get back to" her. A pretty deep and awesome song, I'm not even the religious type, but its just awesome. |
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