The members of The Band first worked together as The Hawks, the backing band of rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins from 1959 until 1963. Afterwards, Bob Dylan recruited the quintet for his history-making 1965/1966 world tour and they joined him on the informal recordings that became the acclaimed Basement Tapes.
Dubbed "The Band" by their peers, the group left the comfort of their communal home in Saugerties, NY to begin recording as a group unto themselves. The Band recorded two of the most important albums of the late 1960s: their 1968 debut Music from Big Pink (featuring the hit single "The Weight") and 1969's The Band. These critically praised albums helped conceive country rock as something more than a genre, but rather as a celebration of "Americana." As such, throughout their career they would repopularize traditional American musical forms during the psychedelic era. The Band dissolved in 1976; Martin Scorcese's landmark concert film "The Last Waltz" documented their final performance. They reformed in 1983 without founding guitarist and main songwriter Robbie Robertson.
Although always more popular with music journalists and fellow musicians than the general public, The Band has remained an admired and influential group. They have been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Their music fused many elements: primarily old country music and early rock and roll, though the rhythm section often had a bouncy, funky punch reminiscent of Stax or Motown, and Robertson cites Curtis Mayfield and the Staple Singers as major influences. At its best, however, The Band's music was an organic synthesis of many musical genres which became more than the sum of its parts. The group's songwriting was also remarkable as, unlike much earlier rock and roll, and following upon the example set previously by The Byrds, very few of their early compositions were based on conventional blues and doo-wop chord changes.
The Band comprised Robbie Robertson (guitar); Richard Manuel (piano, harmonica, drums, saxophone); Garth Hudson (organ, piano, clavinet, accordion, synthesizer, saxophone); Rick Danko (bass guitar, violin, trombone); and Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar) Excepting Robertson, all were multi-instrumentalists; each person's primary instrument is listed first. There was little instrument-switching when they played live, but when recording, the musicians could offer all manner of subtle aural colors and textures to enhance songs. Hudson in particular was able to coax an impressive range of timbres from his Lowrey electronic organ; on the choruses of "Tears of Rage", for example, it sounds startlingly like a mellotron. Helm's drumming was rarely flashy, but he was often praised for his subtlety and funkiness. Critic Jon Carroll famously declared that Helm was "the only drummer who can make you cry," while prolific session drummer Jim Keltner admits to appropriating several of Helm's techniques.
Singers Manuel, Danko, and Helm each brought a distinctive voice to The Band: Helm's gritty, southern voice had more than a hint of country, Danko sang in a soaring, unfettered tenor, and Manuel alternated between fragile falsetto and a wounded baritone. The singers regularly blended in unorthodox, but uncommonly effective harmonies. Though the singing was more or less evenly shared between the three men, both Danko and Helm have stated that they saw Manuel as the Band's "lead" singer.
Robertson was the unit's chief songwriter (though he sang lead vocals on only three or four songs in The Band's career). This role, and Robertson's resulting claim to the copyright of most of the compositions, would become a point of much antipathy between the group's members, especially between Robertson and Helm.
Producer John Simon is cited as a "sixth member" of The Band for producing and playing on Music from Big Pink, co-producing and playing on The Band, and playing on other songs up through The Band's 1993 reunion album Jericho.
On 10 December 1999 is when Rick Danko died in his sleep at age 56. He had been a long-time drug user. In 1997 he had been found guilty of trying to smuggle heroin into Japan. He told the presiding judge that he had begun using the drug (together with prescription morphine) to fight life-long pain resulting from a 1968 auto accident. No drugs were found in his system at the time of his death. Following the death of Rick Danko, The Band broke up for good.
Levon Helm died on 19 April 2012 from complications of throat cancer.
Tears of Rage
The Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And now you throw us all aside and put us all away
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun could treat her father so
To wait upon him hand and foot, yet always tell him no
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why must I always be the thief
Come to me now, you know we're so alone
It was all so very painless when you ran out to receive
All that false instruction which we never could believe
And now the heart is filled with gold as if it was a purse
But, oh, what kind of love is this which goes from bad to worse
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why must I always be the thief
Come to me now, you know we're so alone
And life is brief
We pointed you the way to go and scratched your name in sand
Though you just thought it was nothing more than a place for you to stand
I want you to know that while we watched you discover no one would be true
That I myself was among the ones who thought it was just a childish thing to do
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why must I always be the thief
Come to me now, you know we're so alone
And life is brief
The Band’s “Tears of Rage” is a heart-wrenching song about a father-daughter relationship that has gone awry. The opening lines indicate the pride and love of a father for his daughter, whom he had once carried in his arms on Independence Day. However, frustration and disappointment have taken over their relationship. The daughter has turned down her father’s support and care, leaving him feeling abandoned and hurt. The father wonders how his daughter, who received his “hand and foot” service, could treat him with such indifference.
The chorus of the song, “Tears of Rage, Tears of Grief” expresses the father’s and daughter’s emotions of grief and sadness over their relationship. The father wonders why he always has to be the “thief,” perhaps referring to the blame he feels for their estrangement. He is asking his daughter to come back to him and end their loneliness since “life is brief.” The last verse acknowledges the father’s attempts to guide and help the daughter, but his efforts went unnoticed. The daughter thoughtlessly used the father’s instructions as a pedestal to stand on and neglected to understand the underlying values. The father’s emotions are not driven by anger, but the pain of watching his daughter repeat the same mistakes while he is powerless.
Overall, The Band's "Tears of Rage" is a powerful reflection on the complexities of family relationships and how strained connections can leave us feeling helpless. The lyrics convey a tinge of regret and nostalgia for the warmth of the past. As a result, the chorus can be seen as a plea for reconnection and forgiveness.
Line by Line Meaning
We carried you in our arms on Independence Day
When you were born, we held you on the day our country gained freedom
And now you throw us all aside and put us all away
As you grew up, you ignored us and left us behind
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun could treat her father so
A daughter who treats her father so poorly is very rare
To wait upon him hand and foot, yet always tell him no
We served you and gave you everything, but you still refused to listen to us
Tears of rage, tears of grief
I am crying tears of anger and sadness
Why must I always be the thief
Why do I always feel like I am stealing from you when I am only trying to protect you?
Come to me now, you know we're so alone
Please come back to us, we feel so lonely without you
And life is brief
Life is short and we want to spend it with you
It was all so very painless when you ran out to receive
You were so happy when you went out into the world
All that false instruction which we never could believe
But the things you were taught were untrue and we couldn't accept them
And now the heart is filled with gold as if it was a purse
Yet, you have gained wealth and success at the cost of your morals and values
But, oh, what kind of love is this which goes from bad to worse
Your behavior towards us has only worsened, despite our constant love for you
We pointed you the way to go and scratched your name in sand
We showed you the right path and left our mark on your life
Though you just thought it was nothing more than a place for you to stand
But you never understood the true significance of our guidance
I want you to know that while we watched you discover no one would be true
We always knew that you would face disappointment and betrayal in the real world
That I myself was among the ones who thought it was just a childish thing to do
Even I, your parent, saw your pursuit of truth as naive and immature
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Richard Manuel, Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@CipherSerpico
Am I the ONLY ONE that thinks this song is an Allegory/Metaphor -- about America; And that the "Daughter" is actually the Statue of Liberty; (i.e Our symbol of Freedom, and what America is supposed to represent)...
AND, that the "Father" in the song, is actually referring to the "Founding Fathers", and how they envisioned the country/Their "Daughter" to turn out....?
Like, the song is about the fallacies of the "American Dream/American Exceptionalism", and how She/The Statue of Liberty/America -- never lived up to The Founding Fathers' expectations (The people that 'gave birth' to "Her"/America).
"We carried you, in our arms, on Independence Day":
• Independence Day --
July 4th, 1776; The day that the "Promise" (of all the great things that America would become).....Was born
"And now you'd throw us all aside and put us all away,
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun could treat a father so,
To wait upon him hand and foot and always tell him No":
• America -- was supposed to be the one place that anyone and everyone could escape to. A 'Utopian-Dream-Land' -- where ALL people were equal.
And, the VERY FIRST thing that millions of people would see when they first came to America was...
The Statue of Liberty (The "Daughter" of the Founding-"Fathers".
Except, Her/America's "Children" (i.e The Citizens and the people who came to the country) - soon realized that none of that was true: i.e Slavery, Racism, Bigotry, Vietnam, Gender inequality, etc...
"We pointed you the way to go..."
• The Founding 'Fathers' gave us The Constitution; The greatest political document ever written -- They "pointed us the way to go"; And gave us all we would need to actually make America a "Utopian-State".
"...And scratched your name in sand, Though you just thought it was nothing more, Than a place for you to stand":
• The plaque at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty, with the words:
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free..." -- is LITERALLY written ('Scratched in sand') on the base of the Statue;
It is LITERALLY
'WHAT SHE STANDS ON'.
Except, we do not hold true to the ideals of what the Statue/America is SUPPOSED to be about -- We only CLAIM to believe in those kinds of values.
"I want you to know that while we watched - You discovered no one would be true,
That I myself was among
The ones who thought
It was just a childish thing to do"
• We all witnessed the way America & Her "Children"...
Refused to 'remain true' to the values that we were supposed to abide by.
"...All that false instruction
Which we never could believe,
And now the heart is filled with gold as if it was a purse"...
• Again, the "false instructions" are about things like the Constitution and all that America is supposed to represent and stand for.
The 'heart of gold' line -- Could be about; How we originally had good intentions, and how we genuinely sought to be a country/people with a "heart of gold";
Except, instead of being interested in having a "heart of gold" -- We, instead, decided to replace our "good values" with Literal-Gold, i.e Money/Wealth.
We became solely focused on making money; And we essentially became one big corporation, where people do not care; How--negatively, their actions--effect others, as long as they can financially-benefit, from those actions...
All in all, I'm not POSITIVE that this song is about those things; Or, if - That kind of interpretation was purposefully-intended, except it was just supposed to give the song another layer; Where it could be about a literal 'Father/Daughter', but ALSO have secondary-meanings.
Either way, please let me know what you think, and if you think I missed something that could support my theory;
And/or -- if you think the song is actually about something else.
@lampard98jr
It's seriously one of the best songs of all time.
@patrickflanagan4603
It's fifty years or more on since this album was recorded, and still stirs the soul like no other.
@Staylogical
Dylan/Manuel song.Richard didn't write a lot of songs.But he did write this one and Whispering Pines,two of the best songs I've ever heard by anybody,of any generation.Somebody should have taken better care of him.
@zitarasid7210
Music from Big Pink is one of my top five favorite albums.....I was so young but this album changed how I look at things. The Band/Dylan....can't get any better than this...
@taylorw2199
This album changed the trajectory of rock and roll !!
@stacyblue1980
It didnt sound like anything from that time. Very grown-up like. But beautiful and very with the times at the same time.
@philiphalpenny9761
32 years ago today this poetic voice was spirited away.
@easygordon
I know everything is a matter of taste, but how could anyone turn a thumbs down on this song?
@Sinfulgaiden
The Band's music gets better as I grow older.
@tjcolatrella943
First time I heard this was immediately after it's release on a huge Macintosh Stereo Tube System through big sand filled Warfdale Speakers then all of Levon's drums were mixed only to one side very unique and recreated their set up on stage..I was blown away transfixed as if I was hearing music for the first time and hearing the music I'd always heard in my head and lurked in my soul.. To think I got to know these guys as friends and honored to be requested for material by them and later record with Garth Hudson was like coming home to the big brothers I never had..