Text by Bruce Gallanther (DMG Newsletter for December 2nd, 2022)
“The Weight” by The Band, from Music from Big Pink, released in 1968
I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin’ about 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
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
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’tcha 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
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”
Yeah, 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
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
I finished reading Testimony by Robbie Robertson from The Band when I was visiting my Mom in Florida for Thanksgiving last week. I really dug the book and since the old book store in Lake Worth where I was had closed, I decided to start reading the book again, half way done right now.
Since The Band were Bob Dylan’s first backing and touring band, it was interesting to read about their adventures with Mr. Dylan. During the first couple of tours, since Dylan became famous as a folk artist, his fans mostly reacted to his 180 degree sea change with a loud rock band backing him by booing, screaming and rushing the stage at almost every concert.
These were some challenging times for the members of The Band (once known as The Hawks) who went from being little known & unrecorded to playing large rooms like arenas. Since many of us Dylan fans consider him to the greatest of all song lyricists, I am always fascinated by Dylan’s long & winding music journey which began in 1962 and is still going strong 60 years later.
In 1966, Dylan had a motorcycle accident and stopped touring for several years. The members of The Band moved to Woodstock where Dylan & his manager (Albert Grossman) were living, into a house called Big Pink and set up their own basement studio where The Band & Dylan would write songs, jam and record together. The most famous bootleg album, called The Great White Wonder came from these sessions and was later released as The Basement Tapes.
The first album by the band, called Music from Big Pink was recorded around this time and has remained a favorite of many musicians and listeners. The above song, “The Weight” was the most popular of the bunch and to me, still sounds special. Robbie Robertson who wrote this song used the voices of each singing member, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko and Levon Helm, as different characters in the story/song. It still gives me goosebumps to hear it today.
