The Meanings Behind Lyrics

Admittedly I never listened to Jeff Buckleys lyrics but if the actual music is anything to go buy I could probably have told you he'd end up prematurely dead.
Same as Nick Drake.Sad situations.

As was mentioned somewhere else around here recently, for some songs lyric meaning changes according to the listener but that is another matter. I too appreciate the lyrics of a song (although not a big music listener most of the time) and like to be able to hear the words and understand their meaning in some way. As to web-sites there are several out there. You can do a simple google search with 'lyric meanings' or 'song meanings' and locate them.
A few quick hits (which seem to involve a great deal of audience input) are: Lyric Interpretations Song Facts Song Meanings

Thanks for the site Sturgis! I too am a listener of the lyrics and appreciate a good song.

just out of curiosity bella, is that your eye?

oh, and sturgis, thanks for the site. Is your username named after sturgis podmore in Harry Potter?

No. I wish it was my eye. It's a very pretty eye. Maybe I will put my eye up there. Hm. I might have to.

Sturgis was the (given name) afforded me at birth. There is a story about it.

Let me guess...you were conceived at a motorcycle rally :wink:

Here's one to decipher: "The Weight" by The Band

I pulled into Nazareth
I 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 girl 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) put the weight 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 m'friend can stick around'

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And (and) (and) put the weight on me

Go down, Moses
There ain't nothin' for you to 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
Stay an' keep Anna Lee company.'

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And (and) (and) put the weight on me

Fetch me a cannon ball
Now take me on down the line
May bag is sinkin' low
And I believe it's about time
To get in touch with me
You know she's the one
He said, 'Honey, regards for everyone.'

Take a load off Fanny
Take a load for free
Take a load off Fanny
And (and) (and) put the weight on me

Welcome skwerl. I had that one in mind too.

Thanks Panzade. Actually, I think I'm missing a verse in there...

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.

Interesting lyrics. I never followed them as a story,like The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down but I liked the way they rolled right off my tongue.

Skwerl, great to see you here.

I always thought that song said, "...Take a load off Annie....". It seems to me that the song has to do with someone depending on the kindness of others while bummin' around. Let's see. I managed to get an orphan; a play; and a song in that response.

Not quite.


I was conceived somewhere but they never did tell. My parents met in Sturgis. No, not the biker one in South Dakota but the one in Michigan down near the Indiana border. During a rather difficult pregnancy my mother's doctor had a fatal car wreck and the new Obstetrician was named...you guessed it Sturgis. Hence my name. As for me I have never been to either Sturgis... it would just seem strange.

The "weight" is about a female dope addict, probably coke, who visits a dope house to score some dope.

First stanza is describing coming down and wanting to crash, but theres no beds in the dope house, only dope.

Carmen had some dope (the devil) and gave / sold it to her.

I think Fanny is the dope dealer. Take a load = buy a bag. Take a load for free = sometimes she gives a little for free to get u goin. Then u buy another bag.

Bag = bag of dope
lookin for place to hide = place to get high

cannonball - 1/8 ball of dope
take me on down the line = snorting coke?
My bag is sinking low = running out of dope
and i believe its about time to get in touch with me = time to get some more
you know shes the one = shes the dealer
he said "regards for everyone" = say hi to all the people I never see anymore cuz I'm stuck in the dope house and I dont plan on leaving.

The "weight" has a dual meaning of the purchase amount (1/8 ball = 1/8 ounce in weight) as well as guilt for being a dope addict.

Today people don't really give dope away (load for free) but this song is from the 70's when people often shared their drugs more openly than today.
If you know anything about The Band, they were into partying pretty heavily, as were most bands of that era, and this one too.