folk song with country music (vocals, guitars and drums) and gospel music (piano and organ) elements. The lyrics, written in the first-person, are about a traveler's experiences arriving, visiting, and departing a town called Nazareth, in which the traveler's friend, Fanny, has asked him to look up some of her friends. According to Robertson, Fanny is based on Frances "Fanny" Steloff, the founder of a New York City bookstore where he explored scripts by Buñuel. The town is based on Nazareth, Pennsylvania, because it was the home of Martin Guitars. Robertson wrote the guitar parts on a 1951 Martin D-28. The singers, led by Helm, vocalize the traveler's encounters with people in the town from the perspective of a Bible Belt American Southerner, like Helm himself, a native of rural Arkansas. The characters in "The Weight" were based on real people that members of the Band knew, as Helm explained in his autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire. In particular, "young Anna Lee" mentioned in the third verse is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden, and, according to her, "Carmen" was from Helm's hometown, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas. "Crazy Chester" was an eccentric resident of Fayetteville, Arkansas, who carried a cap gun. Ronnie Hawkins would tell him to "keep the peace" at his Rockwood Club when Chester arrived. According to Robertson, "The Weight" was inspired by the movies of Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel, whose films are known for their surreal imagery and criticism of organized religion, particularly Catholicism. The song's lyrics and music invoke vivid imagery, the main character's perspective is influenced by the Bible, and the episodic story was inspired by the predicaments Buñuel's film characters faced that undermined their goals for maintaining or improving their moral character. Of this, Robertson once stated: Personnel Credits are adapted from the liner notes of A Musical History. Levon Helm – lead and harmony vocals, drums Rick Danko – co-lead and harmony vocals, bass guitar Richard Manuel – Hammond organ, harmony vocals Garth Hudson – piano Robbie Robertson – acoustic guitar Songwriting credit dispute The songwriting credit to Robbie Robertson for "The Weight", like credit for many of the songs performed by the Band, was disputed years later by Levon Helm. Helm insisted that the composition of the lyrics and the music was collaborative, declaring that each band member made a substantial contribution. In an interview, Helm credited Robertson with 60 percent of the