The Weight

Jaime 'Robbie' Robertson

 I pulled into Nazareth, I was feeling about half past dead;
 I just needed 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, and '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.

 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 (etc.)

 Go down, Miss Moses, there's nothing you can say
 It's just ol' Luke, and Luke's waiting on the Judgement 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 (etc.)

 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 (etc.)

 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 (etc.)

Commentary

From the album “Music from Big Pink”, by ‘The Band’, released in 1968.

First, there’s the music. The Band’s music, while generally classed

under ‘folk rock’, was in reality a wonderfully diverse mix of styles. The foundation was built on folk tunes and jug music, but these roots were overlaid with rock flourishes, blues rhythms and gospel harmonies, and tinged with soul, bluegrass and swing.

Next, there are the arrangements. The Band started out as a tight-knit

rock and roll outfit, but under Dylan’s influence they sprawled out into a more ‘relaxed’ group, experimenting with different instrumental and vocal lineups (the fact that each member was proficient on multiple instruments, and that there were three excellent vocalists on the roster, helped). As a result their music often sounded like a work in progress, a group of musicians searching for a common goal. This potentially untidy approach worked surprisingly well; at any rate it proved perfect for the kind of music (eclectic, rough-hewn, down-to-earth) they generally performed. (Their harmonies, especially, are remarkable: they’re distinctly non-traditional, and nowhere near as ‘pretty’ as Simon & Garfunkel’s, but they have a power all their own).

And finally, there are the lyrics. In keeping with the diversity of

musical styles and the multiplicity of instrumental approaches, the Band’s lyrics reflect various strains of a mythologized Americana. And nowhere is this more evident than in the centrepiece of their first album, ‘The Weight’. The theme is not hard to grasp – it’s about the burdens that come to weigh on a man who’s simply trying to do “what’s right” – but the handling is subtle. Allusions to religion (Nazareth, the Devil, Judgement Day) mingle with references to American culture (‘Go Down Moses’ is the title of a short story by Faulkner; the ‘Wabash Cannonball’ is a mythical train that has visited every small-town station in America1) and The Band’s personal history (Crazy Chester, Anna Lee and Old Luke are all supposedly based on real people). The whole is an intensely visual, almost Impressionistic tapestry, where form, content and execution meet to lovely effect.

— Thomas

PS. Here’s a fairly detailed essay on today’s song, somewhat rambling and disorganized, but a good read nonetheless:
http://theband.hiof.no/articles/the_weight_viney.html

  1. See http://www.utahphillips.org/songbook/wabashcannonball.html, and also http://ingeb.org/songs/wabashca.html, and also (especially) Robert Bloch’s excellent short story “That Hell-Bound Train”. ↩

The Wondering Minstrels, poem #1374 · 17 October 2003

Poem selected by Abraham Thomas

Fair use

Show 17 commentsHide comments

From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.

BART VAN OIJEN · 17 October 2003

Hey, this is a good one! The oldies are coming back (Richard Corey)!!!! Wondering if you ever can publish music and chords for guitar. Sincerely,
Bart van Oijen.

Haugen Phebe · 18 October 2003

Hi Thomas,
Thank you for this! It’s always been one of my favorites, but I’ve never read anything about it at all, nor have I even ever seen all the lyrics printed out anywhere. Very enlightening and interesting. All best,
Phebe Haugen
PS Is your first name Thomas or Abraham?

Amy Cobb · 19 October 2003

Hi Thomas,

In the essay in the liner notes of the Band’s To Kingdom Come: the Definitve Collection it states that “the Weight” was inspired by the films of Luis Buñuel (especially Nazarin and Viridiana). I suppose it just proves that artists can find inspiration in works far different from their own.

Thanks,
Amy Cobb

Duane McNaughton · 29 June 2004

A great song. I wonder what it means?

rbbtslyr · 4 November 2004

You have a common miss hearing of the lyrics instead of “Take a load off Fanny” it should be “Take a load off Annie” It is a great old song, no wonder someone grabbed it for a commerical.

Rabbit

Meddle not in the Affairs of Dragons, for Thou Art Crunchy and Taste Good with Catsup or BBQ Sauce

Liberty Hill, SC Elevation 571 ft Lat 34.478N by 80.802W

Burtoncwb · 19 November 2004

Greetings from Little Rock Arkansas:

Can you explain what this song means? I have spent years trying to figure it out. It is currently being played on a nation wide TV commercial and each time I hear it I think I am not giving up until I figure it out or someone will explain a meaning to the poem that makes sense.

Toni

CToby · 10 December 2004

Cool.except for that along with the ‘Annie/Fannie’ issue, there is also the reference to ‘Go Down Moses,’ which is an old Negro Spiritual (Gospel). “Go down, Moses.way down in Egypt’s land. Tell old Pharaoh, let my people go.” etc. The song predates the book-by a few decades.

Otherwise, good commentary, and thanks for taking the time to publish the lyrics and analysis. :-)

CT

Dana Beyerle · 31 December 2004

I can’t believe it was 1968 when the Pink came out. Time flies and the song is still good.

MKosegi415 · 30 January 2005

I’ve always loved this song. But can anyone tell me why it was sold for a car commercial? Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm were once described as, people “you can turn your back on…” Not anymore, I guess. What a pity.

Gerald and Tammy Northcutt · 11 February 2005

I imagine that it was done because of the catchy tune and the first words. I pulled into………It works for the cellular generation. Secondly, I think it is great that they pulled that song back into the mainstream. Awesome tune that our youth would not otherwise experience. I wish we had songwriters like that now. Writers that wrote because of inspiration, not because of a contract and rhyming software. I find myself humming it again and again.

chrisgray · 19 February 2005

FYI
It’s take a load off Annie
Not take a load off Fanny

ohpress · 28 February 2005

Gee whiz, the world has ended because The Weight is used in a car commercial… me, I’m happy to sit through the pitch so I can hear the song. And to the fretful person who demands an Explanation That Makes Sense: Verse makes sense. Poetry doesn’t. Deal with it.

Jocelyn Clark · 13 September 2005

The “Nazareth” referred to in the first line may be Nazareth, Pennsylvania, which happens to be the headquarters of the world-famous Martin Guitar Company. Robertson uses Martin guitars.

pc · 21 December 2005

It’s definitely “Fanny” - listen and learn- in the last verse “…to get back to Miss Fanny…” is clearly heard. Cheers!

Pioneer 10 · 16 January 2007

hey do i remember something about a move called band of the hand, think it was pretty cool for its time………t…

Ilona · 6 December 2007

Hi
Great that I found your site!
Was worndering about the song a while now.
Also I was wondering if “Take the load of Fanny” is a saying, expression, slang or something?
Here in The Netherland I can’t figure it out
Many thanks

Melody Ivins · 15 May 2008

Robbie took authorship credit (and percentages) for nearly all The Band’s songs, but Levon Helms claims that the songs were collaborations. Levon remains so disgusted with his former bandmate that to this day he refuses to appear on the same stage as Robbie. You can read all about it in Helm’s This Wheel’s On Fire, a great memoir and and a grand read, or listen to the post-Robbie Band’s album Jericho, which sounds a lot more like The Band than anything Robbie has done since The Last Waltz.