Carrying the Load

The Band

The Weight 

Listen Here

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 Annie, take a load for free;
Take a load off Annie, And (and) (and) you can 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 m'friend can stick around."

Go down, Miss Moses, there's nothin' you can say
It's just ol' Luke, and Luke's waitin' on the Judgement Day.
"Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee?"
He said, "Do me a favor, son, woncha stay an' keep Anna Lee company?"

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."

Catch a cannon ball now, t'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.


A woman had a dream that she was carrying a tote bag around. She set it down and not long after, she picked it up again. It was so heavy! She wondered why this was so, but she assumed it was hers, so she carried it--and she didn't look into the bag.

Later she returned home, set the bag down again and looked into it. It was filled with books, heavy books. She didn't recognize them. They didn't belong to her. And they didn't leave her bag. She asked some friends of hers to help carry the load; the bag was heavy. And they obliged.

Many times we find ourselves carrying loads. Sometimes they are ours and sometimes not. Some loads are meant to be shared; for if they are not, they become a burden, often too heavy to carry. Asking our friend or another person to share the load, to carry it a distance, to take their portion, is part of the human experience and part of what makes life livable. We are not meant to carry the loads of others, and our own without ceasing.