Heavy

Album: Dosage (1999)
Charted: 73
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • A fallout in 1995 with the band's manager Bill Richardson was financially disastrous for Collective Soul, but provided inspiration for some of their weightiest songs, including "Heavy." In a Songfacts interview with lead singer Ed Roland, he explained: "I was being a little bitch I guess - I felt like I was being taken advantage of, so the whole thing is, 'All your weight it falls on me.'"
  • The guitar solo uses six different types of Wah effects: two standard pedals, three Auto Wah pedals, and a digital Wah via Pro Tools. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Aaron - Chicago, IL
  • The title doesn't appear in the lyric. "I was looking for a word that would fit what I was describing, like 'All your weight it falls on me, it brings me down,'" Roland said. "The riff I felt was a heavy riff, so, 'Heavy' just came up."
  • "Heavy" rocketed to the #1 spot on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, and then set a record for longevity at that position by cruising for 15 weeks. It was their seventh and final #1 on that tally.
  • Dosage is the fourth Collective Soul album. It was near completion when they decided one more song was needed, which is when Roland came up with "Heavy." Running just 2:55, it's a fast-moving song that took up little space on the CD and fit nicely on rock radio playlists.
  • The band performed this at the Woodstock '99 festival, along with a cover of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train."

    And "Crazy Train" pretty much sums up the Woodstock '99 experience. As opposed to earlier attempts to recapture the Woodstock spirit, Woodstock '99 was marked by riots, looting, fires, and reported rapes and assaults. The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis compared viewing the fires from the stage while performing with scenes from the film Apocalypse Now. Riot police broke it up, ending it abruptly. Looking back, one has to wonder what got into people. Y2K jitters?
  • Anthony J. Resta was the producer for this album. Along with being a marquee producing talent for acts such as Duran Duran and Megadeth, he also snagged his 11th RIAA Gold and Platinum certification for his production work on the soundtracks for the Twilight films. See, that's just what Collective Soul fans wanted was to be reminded of Twilight.

Comments: 11

  • Anonymous from North CarolinaI can play heavy and it knocks my speaker off the shelf
  • Mike from Lexington, ScBeing an accomplished guitar player I have to say that learning this song correctly was tricky and to really get the vibe of the song correctly it requires three guitars doing different things. That's what I like about Collective Soul is the instrument arrangements and Ed Roland isn't a rookie in that department either. He studied musical arrangements at Berkley. He knows what he's doing and it shows. Another great band from the great state of GA.
  • Zero from Nowhere, NjI'm pretty sure this song is directed at someone with a lot of emotional baggage and he/she makes it the burdon of the singer. If I'm right I can relate, I know people like that.
  • Ryan from Anahola, HiWhat is this song about?
  • Kayla from Oklahoma City, OkI think this is Collective Soul's best song...
  • Nathan from Sherwood, OrI think collective soul should be getting way more recognition than they are getting right now. My favorite song is run and just like all their other songs on the dosage album, it brings back awesome memories of when i was littler and my 4 brothers would blast collective soul on their stereos
  • Lalah from Wasilla, AkThe beginning guitar rift deserves to be as recognizable as the beginning of "Spirit In The Sky". This is a great song for when I'm angry. I put it on loud enough to shake the windows then do housework. By the time I'm done, I have a cleaner house and I'm not mad anymore. well, not as angry. What an awesome band. This is just te tip of their body of work.
  • Tom from Hershey, PaMore Collective Soul PLEASE on songfacts!! What a great Band!
  • Dana from Biloxi, MsI never paid much attention to this band until I saw them perform this live at the "Last" woodstock. I quickly became a beleiver and now have multiple copies of their stuff around the house,car etc..
  • Dani from Boston, MaThis has a great use of the guitar, I just love listening to the opening over and over again!
  • Jacob from Houston, Tx"Heavy" is my favor. song by Collective Soul their awesome.

    -Jacob H-town,TX
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple PilotsSongwriter Interviews

Stone Temple Pilots bass player Robert DeLeo names the songs that have most connected with fans and tells the stories behind tracks from their Tiny Music album.

Carl Sturken

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

British Invasion

British InvasionFact or Fiction

Go beyond The Beatles to see what you know about the British Invasion.

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.