Weight

FIELD  NOTES  (FEB '23)

Photo: by Tony Bowden, Atlas, condemned to carry the weight of the heavens on his shoulders, Montpellier, France.

Photo: by Gordon Parks, construction workman on the job, Washington, D.C., 1942.

Photo:  by Dorothea Lange, migrant cotton picker in camp, Maricopa, Arizona, 1940.

Photo: by Dorothea Lange, Mexican laborer in camp, Coachella Valley, California, 1935.

Photo: by Russell Lee, street musicians, New Iberia, Lousiana, 1938. 

Photo: by Russell Lee, migrant strawberry picker in camp, Hammond, Louisiana, 1939.

I was not a fan of The Band until a friend from college my sophomore year sent me a cassette tape with a song on it called The Weight. I loved listening to the song but was never quite sure what was happening in it. Is it good that he's taking a load off Fanny? Should we feel sorry for him? He is certainly pulling a lot of weight. Is Fanny just using him? And what's the deal with Moses? All I know is, by the end of the song, I'm relieved the singer is finally making his way back home.

It wasn't until I saw the Playing for Change video below that I got an inkling that the song may have a larger meaning: how we can be links in each other's lives and how we could all use a little help now and then. I think The Weight is a song about getting in and sticking with something as long as you can, wherever the road may take you, and trying to find folks you can connect with along the way. With everyone pitching in, who knows? It may not be so bad that Fanny got a load off, for free.

Playing for Change has an awesome mission: "To Inspire and Connect the World through Music."  You can learn more about their work here. 

Below is a list of the musicians who connected together during the making of The Weight, including Robbie Robertson from The Band who originally wrote the song. (Thanks to my musician husband for helping me identify some of these instruments.)