The Weight" is an original song by the Canadian-American group the Band that was released as a single in 1968 and on the group's debut album Music from Big Pink.
It was their first release under this name, after their previous releases as Canadian Squires and Levon and the Hawks.
Written by Band member Robbie Robertson, the song is about a visitor's experiences in a town mentioned in the lyric's first line as Nazareth. "The Weight" has significantly influenced American popular music, having been listed as No. 41 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time published in 2004.
Pitchfork Media named it the 13th best song of the Sixties and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[5] PBS, which broadcast performances of the song in Ramble at the Ryman (2011), Austin City Limits (2012) and Quick Hits (2012), describes it as "a masterpiece of Biblical allusions, enigmatic lines and iconic characters" and notes its enduring popularity as "an essential part of the American songbook."
"The Weight" is one of the Band's best known songs, gaining considerable album-oriented rock airplay even though it was not a significant hit single for the group in the US, peaking at only No. 63. After it was released, the record debuted just six days later on KHJ's "'Boss 30' records" and peaked at No. 3 there three weeks later. The Band's recording also fared well in Canada and the UK – in those countries, the single was a top 40 hit, peaking at No. 35 in Canada and No. 21 in the UK in 1968. Cash Box called it a "powerhouse performance."
American Songwriter and Stereogum both ranked the song number three on their lists of the Band's greatest songs.
The song had four cover releases in 1968 and 1969 with arrangements that appealed to a diversity of music audiences. Aretha Franklin's 1969 soul music arrangement was included in her This Girl's in Love with You album, which peaked in the U.S. at No. 19 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the soul chart and also peaked in Canada at No. 12.
Jackie DeShannon's 1968 pop arrangement, debuting on the Hot 100 one week before The Band's, peaked at No. 55 in the US and No. 35 in Canada. A joint single rhythm and blues arrangement, released by Diana Ross & the Supremes and The Temptations in 1969, hit No. 46 in the US and No. 36 in Canada. In Britain, the band Spooky Tooth had a minor hit with their version of the song in 1968.
The Band's and Jackie DeShannon's versions never mentioned the title. The Band's version—in its original release, not counting certain other releases later, credits the group's individual members, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and Levon Helm, on the record label, rather than the Band as a single entity.
The group had signed to Capitol as the Krackers and the name "the Band" had yet to be arrived at when Music from Big Pink was issued. The group was not identified as "the Band" until their second album.