The Band » Tracks » The Weight

The Band – The Weight (4:35)

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About This Track

“The Weight” is a 1968 song by The Band. The song appears originally on The Band’s first album, Music from Big Pink.

“The Weight” is one of the group’s best known songs and among the most popular songs of the late 1960s counterculture. However, the song was not a significant mainstream hit for The Band in the US, peaking at only #63. The Band’s record fared much better in Canada and the UK – in those countries, the single was a top 40 hit, peaking at #35 in Canada and #21 in the UK in 1968. No fewer than three cover versions of “The Weight” actually charted higher on the US pop charts in 1968/69 than The Band’s original recording:

1968: Jackie DeShannon took the song to #55 US, #35 Canada.1969: A joint effort by Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations hit #46 US, #36 Canada.1969: Aretha Franklin’s version was the highest charting recording of “The Weight” in both the US and Canada, peaking at #19 US, #12 Canada.

None of these cover versions charted in the UK, where The Band’s version of “The Weight” remains the only version to chart.

The song is #41 in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, published in 2004.[1] On the original single issue, the artist credit simply lists the names of the five members of The Band; the group name “The Band” does not appear.
Song theme

“The Weight” takes the folk music motif of a traveler, who in the first line arrives in Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Once there, he encounters various residents of the town, the song being a story of these encounters. Nazareth is the hometown of the guitar manufacturer C. F. Martin & Company. Years later, the band Nazareth took its name from this line. The Biblical Nazareth was the childhood home of Jesus.
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Albums featuring this track

  • The Best of the Band
    The Band Play
    Buy
  • Music From Big Pink
    The Band Play
    Buy
  • Best Of The Band
    The Band Play
    Buy
  • To Kingdom Come (disc 1)
    The Band Play
    Buy
See all 60 albums

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  • ParadiseCove

    This song has and always will have a lot of uumphh ....

    14 days ago

  • RubesBBA

    Levon sadly missed and always in my thoughts when I listen to "The Band"

    16 days ago

  • skoudmanlives

    RIP Levon

    29 days ago

  • rocktitwoah-man

    I miss you already Levon....hope you're in a very good place. Thank you for blessing the wonderful world of music with your musical heart & soul, expressed through voice and drum ... pa rum pah pum pum <3

    last month

  • AvianCrowd0

    RIP Levon, Take A Load Off.....

    last month

  • jharmon5

    RIP Levon!

    last month

  • cousinbull

    Thank you Levon,RIP

    last month

  • oldiesfanjohn

    RIP Levon...How apropos is it that you are kicking off my Sat. morning first with your wonderful vocals!!!

    last month

  • ttocs60

    LEVON HELM REST IN PEACE MY MAN!

    last month

  • r-iman

    R.I.P Levon Helm

    last month

  • Comicbase

    R.I.P. Levon Helm!

    last month

  • philipt42

    Rest in Peace.

    last month

  • incydentz

    RIP Levon

    last month

  • Ghostwhisperz59

    Classic <3!!!!

    last month

  • Siffiona

    Mmmhmm wonderful

    last month

  • Druid66

    Sheer perfection, this is.

    last month

  • oldiesfanjohn

    Last Waltz version epic!

    last month

  • moonviolette

    Classic..

    March 2012

  • singleindixie

    Love Levon Helm, even now

    March 2012

  • oldiesfanjohn

    Great tune...Danko always nailed his part...no one else comes close

    March 2012
See all 577 shouts

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