The Band / Robbie Robertson - The Weight | The Story Behind The Song | Top 2000 a gogo

The Canadian guitarist, songwriter and singer Robbie Robertson (1943 - 2023) from The Band talks about his inspiratio for the song 'The Weight'.
A short documentary by Top 2000 a gogo from 2016 (Dutch Public Television).

[@LizzyTexBorden]

The first time I ever heard this song was when I went to see Easy Rider in '69. It hooked me. Rest in Peace Robbie Robertson.

[@TheHarold1966]

The solo album Robbie Robertson from 1987 I can recommend. Fallen Angel is the first track with Peter Gabriel on vocals. Also is there the hit single Showdown At Big Sky. RIP Robbie Robertson.

[@TRULoo]

classic solo for sure rip brother

[@OGRE_HATES_NERDS]

his work continues to live on he even did part of the scoring for killers of the flower moon

[@tomobrien563]

You’re right. His solo album is amazing, especially those tunes.

[@Acky642]

I still play the CD in my car. I have had the CD from 1988 or 89. When I got my first cd player when I was 15. My parents forced me to pick out a birthday present. So they said we are getting you a CD player. I said ok. And my brother handed me a cd from his collection and it was Robbie Robertson. I listen to it almost every time I’m in the car. I have great sound system in the car; and playing CDs through it is like sitting in an old cathedral where you can hear all the instruments.

[@bigmac9940]

Possibly the greatest song ever written. Great story, great music, fun to listen to and fun to play! Perfection imho.

[@greglewis1146]

The greatest version of this song is on the Last Waltz concert it has always blown me away!!

[@RickSmith-n4z]

Take a look at the version from the American Music Awards kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ3KdXZsorSIZtE

[@carolalexander1429]

This song just popped into my head this morning and I'm glad it did. ❤

[@TheGreatAtario]

Today, after all these years, I learned it was Fanny, and not, as I had thought, Annie

[@comealongcomealong4480]

@TheGreatAtario Thanks 😀 saved me making this comment. She's been Annie to me for decades!!

[@markzelepugas6046]

Me too just now & I was in a band & we played it at EVERY SHOW!!!

[@comealongcomealong4480]

@@markzelepugas6046 Truly funny 😆 But noone would have picked it up!

[@johncopeland3826]

' Fanny' in the US is 'slang ' for your' behind ' or 'backside '! So the lyric ' take a load of Fanny ' literally means ...have a seat , or sit down in 'slang ' terms .

[@fanmaxis3004]

That's what I thought at first it was Fanny, then I thought it didn't make sense and Annie made more since

[@stephentaylor636]

What a huge talent. The ultimate cool guy !! RIP Robbie Robertson.

[@riverraisin1]

Brilliant people don't realize how brilliant they really are. He's into Luis Bunuel at a young age and I, as an old man, have never even heard of him. That's about the moment my brain exploded.

[@thadood4373]

Because artists back then had to really seek out information on things. And libraries were the best place to start. It’s possible he was struck my an illustration on the cover of one of Bunuels books and it snowballed from there. Nowadays songwriting is so much more paint by numbers. Because pretty much everything has been done

[@henq]

My first single, bought when I was 12….

[@bobabooey285]

Thank you, great clip

[@ernestoborrego5102]

Great song and video!

[@janmartens7954]

Weer een fantastische reportage! Zou erg graag de gehele opname willen zien, sowieso nu Robbie overleden is…

[@outtathyme5679]

Solid gold

[@melloone611]

I thought this was about Kathy Smith who went on to date Gordon Lightfoot who writes the song Sundown about Kathy Smith who meets back up The Band and when they did SNL she meets John Belushi and later is the person who shot him up with the heroin that would kill him…

[@johntechwriter]

Fallen Angel showed Robbie to be a great visionary, even outside of where everybody knew him in The Band. I grew up in Ontario just a few years after these guys, and as a budding keyboard player got to know some people who worked with them. I liked The Band but their nostalgia about the defeated South did not resonate with me. Decades later, I am astonished by the beauty of the songs in the Big Pink album. Rick Danko remains my favorite among The Band. He had this Canadian innocence when interpreting the stories behind the words of Robbie’s mystic songs. I understood “The Weight” for the first time in “The Last Waltz.” It is a story of existential sadness and loneliness, hidden in a cryptic lyric, its import overshadowed by the brilliance of their playing that distracted the listener from its underlying ennui. From their expression of defeat and loss in The Weight, we come to terms what awaits us all as we make our way through this vale of tears. Of course the Staples Singers got it right away! They got this song and put their heats into it. As did Rick playing bass and singing a verse, with that catch in his voice that pierced me to my core. It took me a few decades, but finally I came to understand The Band’s uniqueness, borne of the lost grandeur of the South. From their accountings of loss and suffering and shattered dreams, we can find some some context for our own inevitable journey to Nazareth.

[@realskybluepink9124]

johntechwriter - sweet way of putting the thoughts across. Agree, exceptional group - The Band.❤

[@christopher-ke9nj]

Now it's only Garth God, rest them

[@henkoosterhof5947]

Becoming huge by staying honest? I say yes.

[@michaelstaunton1632]

🎵👍👍👍

[@donaldmason7081]

even after listening to this video I still don't understand most of the lyrics but it just dont matter such a great song. Do you understand one hand clapping

[@kevinjoseph517]

we have garth...even hawk is dead.

[@drdeath1971]

No mention of easy rider?

[@charlesrussek7118]

The song was used in the movie after he wrote it. The original was used in the movie but not in the sound track due to legal issues.

[@Rif_Leman]

He was speaking about events in 1967. Easy Rider came out in 1969.

[@FPS1200]

What happened to music and songwriters???? Now kids think Taylor Swift is a "musician." Someone share The Weight with a kid suffering as a Swiftie so they can listen to real music.

[@Nr1from1978]

Maar..... wie is Chester?

[@charlesrussek7118]

Levon said he was crazy local from his hometown area

[@krishendrix4924]

I still don't know who Fanny was.

[@maggierioux6501]

I've always wondered myself. 😂

[@mikearchibald744]

Damn,, I couldn't have helped you last week when I was reading an article, but there was a woman who said her mother was named Fanny and she was the inspiration for that, but I can't remember details. But its out there in social media land in a comment thread about Robbie Robertson somewhere.

[@kiereluurs1243]

​​@@mikearchibald744So GIY?

[@OGRE_HATES_NERDS]

fanny was the one who took a load off

[@sungazer603]

Sister of Annie 😂.

[@jaded5957]

That wig though...

[@Brinta3]

YOU’RE BALD! -Elaine Marie Benes

[@asap..now.]

So, its about nothing ? I dont like the song anymore 😂😂😂

[@riverraisin1]

It's the Seinfeld of rock and roll! 🤣🤣

[@bgold2007]

So much propagation of misinformation it's Anny not Fanny

[@kiereluurs1243]

Dus eh, wie of wat is 'Fanny'? Waar gaat dit nummer nou over? Fragmentarische onzin.

[@filmer25]

Jij houdt niet echt van kunst hè?

[@asap..now.]

Haha, nou . Ben erachter gekomen dat deze nummer puure onzin is. Had deze video beter niet kunnen zien. Domme nummer gaat nergens over 😮​@@filmer25

[@DanFan2042]

Fanny is a common nickname for the Francis. More familiar in Southern US culture than other places.

[@jamesshaffer3951]

rip

[@kiereluurs1243]

#voidCliche