This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' '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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)
I picked up my bag, I went lookin' for a place to hide
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walkin' 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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)
Go down, Miss Moses, there's nothin' you can say
It's just ol' Luke and Luke's waitin' on the Judgment Day
Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee?
He said, "Do me a favor, 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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)
Catch a cannon ball now to take me down the line
My bag is sinkin' 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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)
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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)
I picked up my bag, I went lookin' for a place to hide
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walkin' 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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)
Go down, Miss Moses, there's nothin' you can say
It's just ol' Luke and Luke's waitin' on the Judgment Day
Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee?
He said, "Do me a favor, 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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)
Catch a cannon ball now to take me down the line
My bag is sinkin' 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 (and, and) you put the load right on me (you put the load right on me)
Lyrics submitted by Hunter, edited by rescuedrab, Groujo, nrew240
The Weight Lyrics as written by Robbie Robertson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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quoting from wiki...
Robertson on "The Weight"
According to 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.
and Fanny's probably the donkey carrying the weight...
I just found the meaning of this song at this address: theband.hiof.no/articles/the_weight_viney.html
Basically, there is no "meaning". It's not like "Hey Jude" where there is a "meaning" or a clear narrative or inspiration. Instead, Robbie Robertson (the man who wrote the lyrics) said "I just wrote it. It’s just one of those things. I thought of a couple of words that led to a couple more, and the next thing I knew I wrote the song," and he's also said "When I wrote ‘The Weight’, the first song for ‘Music From Big Pink’, it had a kind of American mythology I was reinventing using my connection to the universal language. The Nazareth in ‘The Weight’ was Nazareth, Pennsylvania."
He was using very evocative language, which ends up sounding Biblical, i.e. great and mythical -- because there's not much language that digs deeper in the human soul to bring up images than the Bible. And "The Weight" manages to do the same as the Bible, in that respect. And it's also not dissimilar with regard to the difficulty in interpreting it! But, similarly or dissimilarly, that's because The Weight lacks a real story being told. Instead, he he uses the "Universal Language", really evocative and poetic language, to tell a story of travel and desperation and attachment with all the narrative "blanks" left unfilled, which actually leaves us to fill the blanks in with something that's not even put into words -- the imagery of a North American mythology. For me, I imagine him pulling into a Nazareth of whiskey stills and Appalachian old-timers, rural ghettos, rusty train cars rattling by, and guys with dogs that have only been fed whenever their owners got the chance.
A beautiful song, the kind of song that conjures meanings up for each listener. This is one song where the comments on songmeanings that claim that the song has no "meaning" are well placed, although that is an asset in the case of this piece.
@just12 If the song's backdrop is Nazareth, PA...how close is that town to Gettysburg?? All that talk about Cannonballs and Judgement Day makes me think of that-and other, bloody civil war battles. Also, remember that during the time period of all those Classic Rock songs, we were in a virtual second Civil War in this country. The Civil Rights movement, Vietnam War protests, Race Riots, and assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK. The War between the States was referenced more than once. "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" Also performed by The Band and Jon Baez, comes to mind. Not saying I'm Right (I'm usually not) but, it's food for thought.
@just12 I like your take on this esp. that it "conjures meanings up for each listener" - nice.
@just12 So... is it 'Universal Language" or "Biblical", or both [the latter being a smaller overlap in the Venn diagram of the former] :D
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 saidThe 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.
That pretty much wraps the whole thing up. Kudos.<br /> <br /> Although I think Fanny was the name of the donkey who carried Mary into Nazareth? I'm not very familiar with the Bible, so I wouldn't know for sure. That would make sense to me though.
According to songwriter Robertson, "The Weight" was inspired by the films of Luis Buñuel, about which Robertson once said:<br /> (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.[8]<br />
your comment just gave me shivers
your comment just gave me shivers
@smuggler - Nazareth is in Pennsylvania, per Robbie Robinson himself. He was not going for any specific meaning in the song. It just sounded good to him.
@smuggler - Nazareth is in Pennsylvania, per Robbie Robinson himself. He was not going for any specific meaning in the song. It just sounded good to him.
@smuggler - Nazareth is in Pennsylvania, per Robbie Robinson himself. He was not going for any specific meaning in the song. It just sounded good to him.
@smuggler
@smuggler Well that's a mouthful said! But I fear you are running away with your colorful imagination! The song is a catchy, rather unusually literate string of meaningless rhymes. Like The Beatles "Two Of Us." It's fun, silly. Still a good exercise in musical enjoyment.
@smuggler <br /> I agree that it seems to represent the responsibility each of us have, or should have, in life. <br /> I don't know if it was intended this way, but I interpret it as the narrator telling Fanny (God) that he will help care for people he meets along the way or people he already knows in life (put the load right on me). Each person mentioned in the song needs help in some capacity. Some are people he actively tries to help (Carmen - who is either with someone unsavory or she is about to get into some trouble herself. He tries to get her away from the Devil, but it doesn't work). Some are people he just has casual conversations with (when the narrator talks to Luke, who is dying, and asks him about his either younger wife or daughter. Luke asks the narrator to keep her company when he is gone.) Some seek him out (Chester, who can't care for his dog). In each situation, the narrator can not help entirely, even though he tries or wishes he could, but trying to help/checking in with people, is enough. He is looking out for others as God would = Fanny sending the regards.
@smuggler <br /> I agree that it seems to represent the responsibility each of us have, or should have, in life. <br /> <br /> I don't know if it was intended this way, but I interpret it as the narrator telling Fanny (God) that he will help care for people he meets along the way or people he already knows in life (put the load right on me). Each person mentioned in the song needs help in some capacity. Some are people he actively tries to help (Carmen - who is either with someone unsavory or she is about to get into some trouble herself and he tries to get her away from the Devil). Some are people he just has casual conversations with (when the narrator talks to Luke, who is dying, and asks him about his either younger wife or daughter. Luke asks the narrator to keep her company when he is gone.) Some seek him out (Chester, who can't care for his dog). <br /> <br /> Since we don't know what the outcome of each of the interactions, it is unclear if the narrator did help each person. However, maybe Carmen did not know the danger she was around or about to get into and by avoiding the narrator, she changed her plans and, perhaps, the course of her life. <br /> Maybe Luke had a burden on him with wondering about how to take care of his young wife or daughter. Perhaps the narrator said he couldn't stay but he would check up on Anna Lee from time to time. Maybe that eased Luke's concerns, allowing him to die peacefully. Maybe the narrator took Chester's dog, which would have helped out Chester and the dog. Perhaps the narrator gave the dog to someone else or maybe he gave Chester money to help care for the dog. <br /> <br /> In any event, whether the narrator ended up helping or not, he tried and trying to help/checking in with people, is enough. He is looking out for others as God would = Fanny (God) sending the regards.
I really think everyone is turning this song inside out looking for the meaning. I think it's simply talking about one man carrying a burden from many different people throughout the song. In every verse someone else lays more problems on him. Even the last verse about Fanny. She is the whole reason why he is even there (wherever that may be) to start with. But he realises while riding a train back to her that she's all he cares about. And he'll be damn glad to get back home. Whatever it's about...it's awesome!
I like Smuggler's ideas. The singer keeps talking about his bag, the weight. This weight is life, his body. He's in purgatory. Fanny has already died, leaving the narrator with the weight.
He keeps asking for rest which is death.
Crazy Chester says he'll fix his rack( not rat) - slang for giving him a place to sleep. In the song, letting him die.
Chester wants the narrator to take his dog along to the afterlife.
@kevinc7 I like this take on it!
Robbie Robertson said that when he wrote this song, it was just one of those things, where as he's writing, one word just led to another. He is talking about Nazareth Pennsylvania though. Overall, I don't think he even knows what it means.
@true1480 ????
The more you know, the less knowing the meaning of things means.
@waitaminute_chester <br /> Hi, Ilana Wexler
First time I heard this song was in "Easy Rider" movie. I was quite impressed with the mixture of the images and the song. Afterwards in "Rolling Stone" magazine I read that the song was inspired by the film "the impossibility of sainthood" of the Spanish director Luis Bunuel. A great song!
the weight i can rember the first time i heard this great song, i was stoned as f**k, and this song caught on the radio, i never ever had a feelin like the feelin i got from this song, i mean it was almost like the music it self was getting me high, like it was a drug, so ever day i listenin to the weight one or twice and from then on i dont listen to nothing but the band,,, my opion the band was the best groups in history and i think they should of be geiving sumthing more then what they got for makin sum of the greastest music in history......but that my opion,,,,, only thing i now is i would pay a million dollar to find out what happenin to me the day i heard this song,,, i no more ppl then just me felt thing way and i wish i could talk to one of them bout it......
@thebandfav What. You got no SPELLCHECK? Cause you sure can't write a sensible sentence!
I think that this song is very bibilical. He pulls into Nazareth, and there is a man there who shakes his hand and says no politely. You can put the load (sins) on Jesus. What does everyone else think?
Nah, Robbie Robertson has said before that Nazareth is a reference to the town in Pennsylvania where Martin guitars are made. The song is simply about going into town to say hello to someone, or a simple task like that, and all these extraneous things occurring.
@Yarand21 I would argue that adding religious references and potential misunderstandings adds flare and points for style... Which i believe was at least unintentionally intended... I mean, you want it to attract the ear... so people like to listen to it... and, "what's that?, Carmen is walking with the devil?...." I hope my train of thought wasn't too confusing....
@Yarand21 +1 on the "nah" mentioned by @likelylads. Robbie Robertson quote said he was strumming his guitar in the house they shared, "Old Pink", and he saw in the guitar's soundhole: made in Nazareth, PA. and that that, was where that came from. Simple as that. Straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.<br /> <br /> /Granted, I've very aware of why I love SongMeanings.com vs the other lyric sites, so reading into lyrics is a given... but I'm not about to tell a songwriter what they meant.