I am a Yankee, 49 years old and I am recently thinking this is one of the best songs I ever heard! Levon Helm, you are amazi ng and I am so sad we lost you too young.
@@shawnsharkey5528 am a balkan boy roker by birth my father was 2.d.j in ex Yugoslavia in 60s..so I grow up with 3000 rekords in my room..learnd 7 laungviges non in school..last valc is best koncert i ewer seen..woodstok also but it was festival...if you didnt look all koncert...bro doo it last walc is name Martin Scorsesse direkts ...1.masterpeace off him... If you didnt see it please doo it you will thenk me
I can honestly say that The Last Waltz changed my life. When I first saw it, I came out of the theatre a different person. All these years later the music is still as relevant as it was then. I recently read Robbie Robertson's book, Testimony. One of the best, if not the best Rock n Roll autobiographies of all time. What an adventure!! I learned of Robbie's passing today and it has shocked and saddened me greatly. Another of my true heroes gone from this human journey of ours. Go in peace friend and may your spirit continue to travel.
@@TonyBurke-nq5ibmy brother I feel the same way, I get emotional hearing these beautiful renditions of songs of our youth. I just turned 71, and I'm awful sad . Peace and love be with you. ❤
I'm 21 years old and just watched it for the first time a month ago, it also changed my life. I've known of the band since I was born essentially but now that I'm actually listening to them there's no going back for me. I'm currently reading Testimony, Robbie's become a huge inspiration of mine. I hope him and the rest of the boys are jamming somewhere in the beyond.
I saw this in the theater in 1978; I was 16. This has influenced my musical taste my entire life. I was impressed then, and I still get chills when Levon sings.
Same with me, same age, saw it at a small college theater. It took many years to appreciate it all, but the Weight, Caravan, even Mystery Train were etched on my mind forever.
Levon Helm is the voice of America. No other vocalist in history captures this country's earthiness, complexity and ambiguity like he did. God bless him.
J.R. Cash would look a word with you. No other voice looms over the entire American experience the way Cash's immense body of work does. Paupers and prisoners to Presidents, the downtrodden to the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street in downtown NYC, simple common folk to celebrities and heroes: they all hear themselves and their stories in his songs. Red and yellow, black and white, they all accept him as one of their own. From "Hey Porter" to "Hurt", over six decades he constantly pushed the boundaries of multiple genres of American music. No other artist is a member of the Country Music HOF, the Rock & Roll HOF, and the Songwriter's HOF. Levon is head and shoulders above the vast majority of the cream of the crop of American musicians, but Cash will always be not only The Man in Black, he's The Man. Even Dylan was in awe of Cash the first time they met at Newport in the early 1960s. Kristofferson, probably the most literary songwriter to ever work in Nashville, considered Cash his mentor and equal. No one, not even Elvis Presley or Aretha Franklin or Sinatra or Brother Ray filled a room with his mere presence the way Cash did. All it took was for him to step up to a microphone and say, "Hello... I'm Johnny Cash" and the air was charged with an electricity⚡in a way no other could bring show after show after show for sixty years.
Absolutely, but how the hell does a Canadian write a song like this? RR captures more deep emotion in three stanzas than some historians achieved in three volumes. "You can't raise a Cain back up when he's in defeat...."
He says he wrote it, but I have a hard time believing he wrote this song all on his own. A guy from Canada wrote this? yea right. He stole writing credits from the other band members.
@@brandonluft5153 The dumb comment is the one from the person (you) who isn't capable of adding anything intelligent to the conversation other than name calling. My wife's third grade class does that same thing.
Respect to Robbie Robertson, passed on at 80 years of age -- composer of many classic tunes (like this one), performed beautifully by he and the rest of the boys in The Band.
From a unique place, Robbie is simply a genius for putting this together in the perspective that is totally unbiased, and from the "common" mans perspective after every war and the heart wrenching emotional evocation is absolutely unmatched.
I'm a Pennsylvania man but this song rips emotion out of me. Doesn't matter what war it is the poor always go and fight for their homelands and politics mean nothing.
@googleisorwellian Understood. We could debate why the war was started but I think the song is from the perspective of an average southern farmer. Not a plantation owner or of the upper class.
So true brother, I remember this when it came out, I was in high school. The saddest thing about being a millennial is their complete lack of good music.
Civil War historians were amazed at the level of detail and passion Robbie Robertson put into this song .. almost like he had been there before. It's a big reason why it touches so many still to this day. We will never experience such talent and grace again. RIP Robbie, Levon and all ..
I'm a history teacher and I usually include this song in my section on the civil war. It's so touching and really makes the human experience of collective defeat accessible to kids, even when they're unsympathetic to the Southern cause.
This is what real musicians do, Levons in a league of his own, the passion in his voice, no superlative covers how good the man was, real music. Nuff said.
The Band is imbedded into my youth. Levon singing and playing was blasted through my house when I was young. Still happening in my older days. I live on a cripple creek out in the woods. The music is played just as much and a bit louder due to ringing in my ears. lol. Much love and respect for each of these guys.
Say what you want about Levon...when he sat down behind that drum kit, he was in a league of his own. RIP Robbie Robertson. Its another sad day for music
The single best individual performance by any drummer. The passion in that song is on a different level. I adore it. Levon's best performance. He gave everything for us in that song
This is the best performance of any song ever in my view. I think some neither understand nor listen to the lyrics. They just hear Richmond, Lee, and Yankee then conclude it's pro slavery, which it's not. It's an anti war ballad told from the perspective of a vanquished people. This version brings me to tears.
@@vangroover1903 what's wrong van you're chief sell your ancestors for babbles and trinkets cheer up mate you talk like no slavery in the north 🇮🇪🏴🙏🏻🙏🏻🍉🍉🐖🐖🍌🍌🍌💚💚💚
@@svenjansen2134 The Band had 3 great singers, it is hard to elevate one of the others. They way I see it, Robbie often wrote a song with a certain singer in mind. However, it wasn't set in stone, he wrote Stage Fright with Richard in mind, then felt it was better suited to Rick's nervous energy, and if you have watched Rick singing it in The Last Waltz you will know he was right. RIchard was perfect for "The shape I'm in", and of course Levon was perfect on "Up on Cripple Creek, and Dixie.
@@free322001 Then why are Yankees so obsessed with trying to ban anything related to the Confederacy: statues, monuments, flags If they really didn't care then how do you explain these actions which have been increasing since 2015
There are very few singers that can reach down and make you feel their song. This is one of the great ones that can do just that. His music reaches down to your core and you feel everything he puts in his songs. So glad he is back making great music.
This is one of the most beautiful evocative songs of a time in history. Levon Helm's voice is perfect for it. Robbie Robertson, a Canadian wrote this masterpiece. Thanks Robbie.
Levon Helm was the only American in the Band. They were all Canadian. It's sort of ironic that arguably their biggest hit was about the American civil war.
Oddly enough I just discovered this song and even though I'm from Pennsylvania it does the same for me. I commented earlier that it "rips" emotion out of me.
I was taking care of my 80-year dad in his last days and this concert was on PBS. This song was playing when he woke up from a snooze. I asked him if he wanted to watch something else, sitcom, Turner Classic... whatever. Never forget his reply: "Oh no. I like this. This is good music. Reminds me of growing up". He was born in 1921 in rural East Texas. No band could create rock Americana like The Band and no one could sing it like Levon.
My mother lit candles when this album dropped and glassy eyes all around, the toll that war took on our ancestral family was terrible, cousins on either side, 4 in one battle against each other. Robbie was a master at songcraft. An evocative ballad that could be a contemporary dirge of those days. We have not forgotten their sacrifices, neither did The Band. Single Released 50 yrs ago 29 Nov 1969
Lori Mooney Southern Born here. I grew up on the old stories and moved North where I became a Yankee. I first heard this song live at a Joan Baez concert in 1974. Nothing Ive ever heard evokes the complicated history of that war. The feeling of pride for taking a Rebel Stand and the loss of a brother and ultimately a way of life. As a Southern Man I hate the Evil Institution behind the war. I am horrified to read the accounts of the Slave boats and the flesh markets. Despite that, My southern heritage is a part of me. It feels like Levon is singing and playing his heart out for me.
Obviously slavery wasnt the main cause of the war lincoln said in a speech that he would do anything to save the union wether it be freeing slaves or keeping them in bondage, tyrants, taxes, and the defense of your home state was the reason most folks went to fight
Levon once sat in with a band I used to be in. We stood in a circle before the encore and he handed us all Levon Helm guitar picks and said "easy money. Easy money now." Magical. The guy was awesome.
As a proud Canadian who has lived in the US the past 25 years, I have always been awed and grateful for what The Band gave us all those years ago....and having Levon Helm in the mix was the missing ingredient. With all apologies to Don Henley and maybe Phil Collins, this is the single greatest drummer/vocalist performance in history. It is so obvious from the film that he poured everything he had into this performance, and we are all the beneficiaries. I hope that future generations can appreciate the effect that this band had on the musical landscape...so sad there's only Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson left. Levon was the linchpin and voice that impressed and enthralled us all those years ago...and in my mind, nothing has changed. Thank you The Band members, Bob Dylan, Martin Scorsese, and especially Levon Helm. I will never forget you, this song (among many others), or the impact your music had on our lives. As Elton John sang, "and he shall be Levon, and he shall be a good man." 'Nuff said, I guess.
We always knew back then late 60s and early 70s that Levon Helm really personified our particular region with that voice....and his Canadian brothers were non too shabby. I’m glad it was a soundtrack to my youth ...thank you
I'm a European, can't honestly get into the politics of it, or the poetic licence in the lyrics, whatever... But the unbelievable delivery, the soul, the passion, the control, precision, in this performance is truly astonishing. Breathtaking.
i'm so jealous that i missed all the great concerts...now a days i have no desire to spend the $$$ to see anyone...last concerts i saw were John Mellancamp Scarecrow tour and way before that Van Halen Diver down...i missed the 70's..i was in elementary school :(
Crazy pertinent. We all need to go sometime… My dad played this for me and said he considered this his song to release us from the pain of his dying. He played it and talked about it for all of us - to remind us of gratitude. We go on.
I was 25/26yrs old, year was 2000-2001; a young piano player and singer that was obsessed with The Allman brothers Fillmore album and the blues when I first heard The Band. It sounds trite to say but even so, they changed my life. They are without a doubt the quintessential masters of less is more. It’s not the notes played but the silence between the notes. I can’t say how much I love Richard, Rick and Levon.
I can only hope for that people that attended The Last Waltz they realized they saw history, for the rest of us we will enjoy and appreciate this stellar performance by some of the finest musicians of our time.
Check out Levon's triplets with both hands together in every chorus (visually you can see it at :50. Effortless, clean, in the pocket). And he's not just singing in tune while doing it; he's giving it all of his soul. Levon Helm, my favorite singing drummer bar none.
Not sure he was ignored as such. Might have been he was stoned or drunk as much as I love this singing he had serious alochol and drug problems. They all did drugs, including Robbie, which he is very open about in this book Testimony, but Richard was a serious addict, just couldn't stop or moderate.
People would chop wood for steamboats Leave it on the shores and a steamboat would come by and take the wood to burn in their boiler to power their engine. They would leave money for the wood on the wood pile not a lot of money as this song say's. The Robert E Lee was a famous steamboat that won a race against another famous steamboat The Natchez in New Orleans. Robbie dug up this history and added it to this great song genius. RIP Robbie.
Thanks for that info, I used to belt that song out when I was a little girl in Ireland, and I didn’t know what that meant regarding ‘ chopping wood’ now I know. Great band, real music💙
Fascinating. I believe that “the money’s no good” refers to Confederate (CSA) currency, which was not backed by gold, which became worthless when the Southern government fell.
Yeah Robbie must have looked up all this info in a library! because there wasn't any internet to help him out. And he wrote the song in Canada. How did writers get by without Wikipedia?
Dr. Sjonquist: I agree entirely. I never met the man, though was from Helena, Arkansas, which I’ve played more times than I could ever count. My late mother-in-law was from Helena. Born and raised. Levon was one of the finest drummers this world will ever hear. He was a great influence on B.J. Wilson of Procol Harum, also one of my most beloved players. Thank you for truly listening. Dr. A. S. Long
First of all... When Levon sings you can hear aching in his singing. Almost like a cry, passion!!! And the name of the band is "The Band" the epitome of a band name! it's like so simple, yet creative! if you truly know music, play an instrument, or have true feeling for soul then you will love the "Band" I rest my case!
There's twice as much talent on that stage than in all of the music industry today... not that there's not monster talent out there it's just largely ignored. Sad
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
This whole concert is easily one of the greatest live performances in the history of music
Joni doing "Coyote" with the guys was soooooo next level!
Without question.
Changed my whole life watching the last waltz fell in love with music
Definitely
He was wasted that night.. lol
One of the best performances by a drummer ever--period. Levon sang his heart out in this ballad and it showed.
And did it effortlessly. A true legend
The best. Could listen to Levon sing this all night long
Excellent
I cant judge that. What do u look at?
It's a pity he turned sour at the end
I am a Yankee, 49 years old and I am recently thinking this is one of the best songs I ever heard! Levon Helm, you are amazi ng and I am so sad we lost you too young.
@@shawnsharkey5528 am a balkan boy roker by birth my father was 2.d.j in ex Yugoslavia in 60s..so I grow up with 3000 rekords in my room..learnd 7 laungviges non in school..last valc is best koncert i ewer seen..woodstok also but it was festival...if you didnt look all koncert...bro doo it last walc is name Martin Scorsesse direkts ...1.masterpeace off him...
If you didnt see it please doo it you will thenk me
I can honestly say that The Last Waltz changed my life. When I first saw it, I came out of the theatre a different person. All these years later the music is still as relevant as it was then. I recently read Robbie Robertson's book, Testimony. One of the best, if not the best Rock n Roll autobiographies of all time. What an adventure!! I learned of Robbie's passing today and it has shocked and saddened me greatly. Another of my true heroes gone from this human journey of ours. Go in peace friend and may your spirit continue to travel.
Moving tribute, this is!😢❤😢
Ruined my life also!! LOL In a really great way
I'm an old man and it breaks my heart to see my heroes slowly dying away.
@@TonyBurke-nq5ibmy brother I feel the same way, I get emotional hearing these beautiful renditions of songs of our youth. I just turned 71, and I'm awful sad . Peace and love be with you. ❤
I'm 21 years old and just watched it for the first time a month ago, it also changed my life. I've known of the band since I was born essentially but now that I'm actually listening to them there's no going back for me. I'm currently reading Testimony, Robbie's become a huge inspiration of mine. I hope him and the rest of the boys are jamming somewhere in the beyond.
The passionate soulful voice of Levon Helm. One of a kind.
Passionate voice of Mavis Staples
Once you think you got it figured out… you’re wrong…
Nobody sang this like Levon. Nobody. Magical.
Tsully Joan Baez
Levon was a beast. I have it on dvd, can't skip a single song when I put it on.
If you haven’t already, do read Levon’s autobiography, This Wheel’s on Fire.
No doubt about that
Noboby.🤩
I can't listen to the studio version anymore after hearing this.
Me neither!
Alex P same! This is so powerful.
I agree. The same with The Weight.
Amen to that
I feel the same way about all the songs in this film
I saw this in the theater in 1978; I was 16. This has influenced my musical taste my entire life. I was impressed then, and I still get chills when Levon sings.
I'm so jealous. I've loved The Band all these years, and I do indeed own the DVD, but Damn I wish I had seen this when it came out ✌🏼
I saw it on cable a couple years later on when I was about 10 or 11. Same with me. This one always stuck with me.
@@Liquidmice9 hug yourself 🤗 and know how lucky you were ❤️
Same with me, same age, saw it at a small college theater. It took many years to appreciate it all, but the Weight, Caravan, even Mystery Train were etched on my mind forever.
@@craigm1954 amazing isn't it, decades go by and these songs remain, and with TH-cam's help, they'll never die ❤️
Levon Helm is the voice of America. No other vocalist in history captures this country's earthiness, complexity and ambiguity like he did. God bless him.
True. But Doug Sahm comes close.
Well Said !!!
J.R. Cash would look a word with you. No other voice looms over the entire American experience the way Cash's immense body of work does. Paupers and prisoners to Presidents, the downtrodden to the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street in downtown NYC, simple common folk to celebrities and heroes: they all hear themselves and their stories in his songs. Red and yellow, black and white, they all accept him as one of their own. From "Hey Porter" to "Hurt", over six decades he constantly pushed the boundaries of multiple genres of American music. No other artist is a member of the Country Music HOF, the Rock & Roll HOF, and the Songwriter's HOF.
Levon is head and shoulders above the vast majority of the cream of the crop of American musicians, but Cash will always be not only The Man in Black, he's The Man. Even Dylan was in awe of Cash the first time they met at Newport in the early 1960s. Kristofferson, probably the most literary songwriter to ever work in Nashville, considered Cash his mentor and equal. No one, not even Elvis Presley or Aretha Franklin or Sinatra or Brother Ray filled a room with his mere presence the way Cash did. All it took was for him to step up to a microphone and say, "Hello... I'm Johnny Cash" and the air was charged with an electricity⚡in a way no other could bring show after show after show for sixty years.
Absolutely, but how the hell does a Canadian write a song like this? RR captures more deep emotion in three stanzas than some historians achieved in three volumes. "You can't raise a Cain back up when he's in defeat...."
@@raylauletti2004 Watch "NOT IN IT FOR MY HEALTH" and you'll have your answer.
RIP Robbie Robertson. This was probably one of the best songs he wrote.
He says he wrote it, but I have a hard time believing he wrote this song all on his own.
A guy from Canada wrote this? yea right. He stole writing credits from the other band members.
@@keithm9337 What a weird and ignorant accusation
@@keithm9337the whole band said he wrote it😅
@@keithm9337man this is a dumb comment
@@brandonluft5153 The dumb comment is the one from the person (you) who isn't capable of adding anything intelligent to the conversation other than name calling. My wife's third grade class does that same thing.
Never saw a drummer pour out heart and soul the way Levon did here. Incredible performance.
We lost Robbie Robertson today - RIP Robbie. Canadian legend and icon.
Amazing, can't even describe in words...
Rest in peace Robbie.
I still get chills when I hear them RIP my beautiful voices can’t wait to see you all jam again in Heaven I know you all are there🙏❤️❤️❤️
Screw Robbie
@@urbanlumberjackScrew you courtesy of the mind of Robert
Robbie Robertson said this is the best he ever saw Levon Helms ever perform this. Leon had told him he'd bring his A game and boy did he ever!!!
You get the feeling that it is the last time they are ever going to play it and they better make it count.
Elton John once said a drummer should never sing unless his name is Levon Helm !!!
And wrote song about that called Levon.
he may have but Phil Collins did as well, as does the Corr sister (Caroline) and both do very well.
👍🏻👍🏻
David McKee, He really said that?
I thought Topper Headon had said this.
One of the greatest songs ever written and performed.
great tune ...the p c mob are a bunch of fuckwits
Levon Helm sang and played with honesty and conviction. What a talent. "The Band" forever.
You bet!! He also was cast in The Right Stuff and was that film's narrator.
Shepherd's Chapel Network !!!!!!! Have you obtained your free CD / The Mark of the Beast ???????
@@jimhirsch4482 His brief appearance in The Shooter was the best part of the movie.
Respect to Robbie Robertson, passed on at 80 years of age -- composer of many classic tunes (like this one), performed beautifully by he and the rest of the boys in The Band.
From a unique place, Robbie is simply a genius for putting this together in the perspective that is totally unbiased, and from the "common" mans perspective after every war and the heart wrenching emotional evocation is absolutely unmatched.
"they should never have taken the very best..."
R.I.P. Robbie, such a great song writer and great musician, a rock legend. Your music lives on.....thank you for your music.
It's 2023, and I still can't think of any other movie that was so classic about any band, especially, The Band in The Last Waltz.
This song feels so much like it is a passed down from father to son, a real life experience, it oozes authentic history.
No doubt it will be forbidden soon. It is so personal it seems the 'ordinary folk' experience of a tragic war.
Levon Helm... You will live on!
You were not just a drummer...
You were an angel!
May you rest in peace!
Came here to listen because Robbie Robertson died. What a classic, memorable song. I wish I could have seen them live.
I'm a Pennsylvania man but this song rips emotion out of me. Doesn't matter what war it is the poor always go and fight for their homelands and politics mean nothing.
Because they have nothing else. All they ask for is a place, and they'll kill for it.
@googleisorwellian
Understood. We could debate why the war was started but I think the song is from the perspective of an average southern farmer. Not a plantation owner or of the upper class.
@googleisorwellian - How did the "North pick [ed] a fight?" 🍿
Perfectly put.
戦争をしてはいけない
Weren't they just the best ever? I have been on a binge since hearing about Robbie and it is amazing how the songs hold up. Sheer timeless artistry.
Good god, what a song and what a voice! We'll never hear music as good as this again.
So true brother, I remember this when it came out, I was in high school. The saddest thing about being a millennial is their complete lack of good music.
@@shankster3578 You have never heard Quevo then I take it.
Just trollin. lol
great job
Civil War historians were amazed at the level of detail and passion Robbie Robertson put into this song .. almost like he had been there before. It's a big reason why it touches so many still to this day. We will never experience such talent and grace again. RIP Robbie, Levon and all ..
I'm a history teacher and I usually include this song in my section on the civil war. It's so touching and really makes the human experience of collective defeat accessible to kids, even when they're unsympathetic to the Southern cause.
One error though: Richmond fell in April.
@@klebersernik4141 still technically by May 10th
@@lostinclownworld On May 10th Davis was captured in Georgia. The city of Richmond fell on the 3rd of April. Those are the facts.
This is what real musicians do, Levons in a league of his own, the passion in his voice, no superlative covers how good the man was, real music. Nuff said.
Critic John Carrol wrote that "Levon Helm is the ONLY drummer that can make you cry." How true. RIP
Levon is the best drummer/vocalist ever. Don Henley wishes he could do both as well as Levon
And he could act, as well. Loved his brief stint in Coal Miners Daughter.
This voice and Levons passion is just unbelievable.
The Band is imbedded into my youth. Levon singing and playing was blasted through my house when I was young. Still happening in my older days. I live on a cripple creek out in the woods. The music is played just as much and a bit louder due to ringing in my ears. lol. Much love and respect for each of these guys.
Say what you want about Levon...when he sat down behind that drum kit, he was in a league of his own.
RIP Robbie Robertson. Its another sad day for music
These are five musicians that just made magic and nobody could ever duplicate it they were the Band!!!!
This should have about a billion views by now. Essential to any living being. Definition of vocal authenticity right here. Take note, young lads.
The single best individual performance by any drummer. The passion in that song is on a different level. I adore it. Levon's best performance. He gave everything for us in that song
That military style drumming near the end, where he's pounding away in double time as if in some parade... it just slays me every time.
It doesn't matter where tf you're from. This song is quite possibly one of the best songs: lyrically, melodically, instrumentally, every performed
This is the best performance of any song ever in my view. I think some neither understand nor listen to the lyrics. They just hear Richmond, Lee, and Yankee then conclude it's pro slavery, which it's not. It's an anti war ballad told from the perspective of a vanquished people. This version brings me to tears.
It's also nice how it commemorates General Stoneman. He was a hammer on the rebel filth and their twisted, evil cause.
I think this the best live performance I've ever seen.
I so agree! It's a song of loss, that cuts all the way through the soul. It's not pro anything. Just loss.
@@vangroover1903 what's wrong van you're chief sell your ancestors for babbles and trinkets cheer up mate you talk like no slavery in the north 🇮🇪🏴🙏🏻🙏🏻🍉🍉🐖🐖🍌🍌🍌💚💚💚
interestingly, written by a Canadian
Another masterpiece from the best band ever, Robbie is a generational musical icon, jamming with Levon in rock heaven.
Richard and Rick, as well
Robbie and Levon are now reunited.
Robbie learned in the flash of light that he couldn’t take that royalty money with him. RIP
I have heard this so many times and I still get the chills! Levon sang his whole heart out!❤❤
me too
Levon Helm was incredible and this song NEVER gets old.
Loved your work, Robbie. If there's a rock and roll heaven, it's your turn for a solo. Try not to fight with Levon.
Since my eighteen I see this concert every 10 years! I'm 58 and I love Robie as yesterday!! Thank you The Band, see you over the rainbow...
At least once per year, doctor's orders.
RIP Robbie -----Thank you for the music and memories.
Boston college 1970.
I was 14 years old and still the greatest concert of my life.
OMG
I'm miss Music being made, wrote, performed and sang like this 🥲
What a good drummer and singer Levon is.....Just WoW
Who got to see this performance live? I saw the movie while visiting Chicago in ‘78. Probably the best rockin roll movie ever made, bar none.
I'm 75 and never heard of Robbie but love this song and performance. Thanks for sharing. I pray he knew Jesus❤
Keep praying. That guarantees nothing. Always some religious kook pushing their trope. Like you.
I pray he knew Jesus also. Keep the faith Sister !!!
Levon Feckin’ Helm
Give respect to his name
I got goosebumps! What a f'n American classic. This is music, real talent!
My GOD what a powerful song and performance!!!
This is Levon's song, I agree with that. However, Rick can still be heard harmonizing, his voice is so unique. Just love him.
And Manuel's falsetto at the end. It's breathtakingly beautiful.
@@svenjansen2134 The Band had 3 great singers, it is hard to elevate one of the others. They way I see it, Robbie often wrote a song with a certain singer in mind. However, it wasn't set in stone, he wrote Stage Fright with Richard in mind, then felt it was better suited to Rick's nervous energy, and if you have watched Rick singing it in The Last Waltz you will know he was right. RIchard was perfect for "The shape I'm in", and of course Levon was perfect on "Up on Cripple Creek, and Dixie.
That line "he was just 18 proud and brave but a..Yankie laid him in his grave" .....gets me every time
That is musical writing at its finest. Very melodic but the words come through like poetry.
Yes, also "... But they should never / Have taken the very best", which could be applied to most wars.
@@copperspartan1643 And they wonder why in the South for generations even up to this day have suspicion regarding Yankees.
A "Blue Belly" at that ...
@@free322001 Then why are Yankees so obsessed with trying to ban anything related to the Confederacy: statues, monuments, flags
If they really didn't care then how do you explain these actions which have been increasing since 2015
The is absolutely my favorite version of the song. It’s incredible. Levon never sang it better.
And never sang it again. The story of this performance is one of rock's saddest but most genuine episodes.
There are very few singers that can reach down and make you feel their song. This is one of the great ones that can do just that. His music reaches down to your core and you feel everything he puts in his songs. So glad he is back making great music.
He died in 2012.
This is one of the most beautiful evocative songs of a time in history. Levon Helm's voice is perfect for it. Robbie Robertson, a Canadian wrote this masterpiece. Thanks Robbie.
Levon Helm was the only American in the Band. They were all Canadian. It's sort of ironic that arguably their biggest hit was about the American civil war.
I don't know why this brings a tear to my eye. I always remember this song and growing up in central Texas.
Oddly enough I just discovered this song and even though I'm from Pennsylvania it does the same for me. I commented earlier that it "rips" emotion out of me.
Same for me growing up in SoCal in the 70s.
It brings a tear to your eye because you are a human being who recognizes when genius cuts to your soul.
Lemon Helms voice is what makes this song so great
Sum of the parts I say.
This would be the concert I would have wanted to see above any.
For me it’s this or Stop Making Sense
With Bob Dylan and Dr. John too. Insane.
Braden White And Ronnie Hawkins for good measure
HamiltonRb hey man don’t forget Neil young
Joni and Van the Man;)
I was taking care of my 80-year dad in his last days and this concert was on PBS. This song was playing when he woke up from a snooze. I asked him if he wanted to watch something else, sitcom, Turner Classic... whatever. Never forget his reply: "Oh no. I like this. This is good music. Reminds me of growing up". He was born in 1921 in rural East Texas. No band could create rock Americana like The Band and no one could sing it like Levon.
That song makes me cry every Damn time!!! That's why the WHOLE WORLD LOVES this band!! Pure as the day is long!! Peace brother
My mother lit candles when this album dropped and glassy eyes all around, the toll that war took on our ancestral family was terrible, cousins on either side, 4 in one battle against each other. Robbie was a master at songcraft. An evocative ballad that could be a contemporary dirge of those days. We have not forgotten their sacrifices, neither did The Band. Single Released 50 yrs ago 29 Nov 1969
Lori Mooney Southern Born here. I grew up on the old stories and moved North where I became a Yankee. I first heard this song live at a Joan Baez concert in 1974. Nothing Ive ever heard evokes the complicated history of that war. The feeling of pride for taking a Rebel Stand and the loss of a brother and ultimately a way of life. As a Southern Man I hate the Evil Institution behind the war. I am horrified to read the accounts of the Slave boats and the flesh markets. Despite that, My southern heritage is a part of me. It feels like Levon is singing and playing his heart out for me.
Obviously slavery wasnt the main cause of the war lincoln said in a speech that he would do anything to save the union wether it be freeing slaves or keeping them in bondage, tyrants, taxes, and the defense of your home state was the reason most folks went to fight
This song never ceases to make the hairs on my neck stand on end. Extraordinary!!
This song is a history lesson. Unfortunately, people in 2024 don't realize it.
Correct!
Or they think it’s a pro-confederate song😂
@@ponderingmonk525It’s not pro or anti-Confederate. It’s a song about how war is hell for the soldiers and civilians alike.
@@ponderingmonk525 Exactly. It's more like Virgil's Lament. He knows he's going down on the wrong side of history. Stubborn Old Man.
What happened to our country?
Levon once sat in with a band I used to be in. We stood in a circle before the encore and he handed us all Levon Helm guitar picks and said "easy money. Easy money now." Magical. The guy was awesome.
As a proud Canadian who has lived in the US the past 25 years, I have always been awed and grateful for what The Band gave us all those years ago....and having Levon Helm in the mix was the missing ingredient. With all apologies to Don Henley and maybe Phil Collins, this is the single greatest drummer/vocalist performance in history. It is so obvious from the film that he poured everything he had into this performance, and we are all the beneficiaries. I hope that future generations can appreciate the effect that this band had on the musical landscape...so sad there's only Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson left. Levon was the linchpin and voice that impressed and enthralled us all those years ago...and in my mind, nothing has changed. Thank you The Band members, Bob Dylan, Martin Scorsese, and especially Levon Helm. I will never forget you, this song (among many others), or the impact your music had on our lives. As Elton John sang, "and he shall be Levon, and he shall be a good man." 'Nuff said, I guess.
So soulful that even the Yankees are weeping.
Amen from this Yankee, brother
I guess black folks aren't weeping.
We always knew back then late 60s and early 70s that Levon Helm really personified our particular region with that voice....and his Canadian brothers were non too shabby. I’m glad it was a soundtrack to my youth ...thank you
I'm a European, can't honestly get into the politics of it, or the poetic licence in the lyrics, whatever...
But the unbelievable delivery, the soul, the passion, the control, precision, in this performance is truly astonishing. Breathtaking.
I can't look at Danko without getting sad. Such a sweet soul.
I cry when I hear his voice, and Levon's too.
i love him when he spazzes with his own style on the weight.. :) i just got into the band and didn't know he passed too.. so sad...
Never had an argument not like other bands
I love his voice on It Makes No Difference. Tears your heart out.
You can lay in your grave knowing you contributed to one of musics greate songs and that can never be taken away . Thankyou sincerely...... Thankyou
This song is like a story, I can picture it in my mind. IT always gives me the chills. ❤
I got to see them perform in the early 70s - best live band I ever saw, no nonsense, barely spoke to the audience, just one great song after another.
i'm so jealous that i missed all the great concerts...now a days i have no desire to spend the $$$ to see anyone...last concerts i saw were John Mellancamp Scarecrow tour and way before that Van Halen Diver down...i missed the 70's..i was in elementary school :(
God bless The Band. One of the greatest performance groups to have ever existed!
Crazy pertinent. We all need to go sometime… My dad played this for me and said he considered this his song to release us from the pain of his dying. He played it and talked about it for all of us - to remind us of gratitude. We go on.
Sounds like your father was a soulful person.
I was 25/26yrs old, year was 2000-2001; a young piano player and singer that was obsessed with The Allman brothers Fillmore album and the blues when I first heard The Band. It sounds trite to say but even so, they changed my life. They are without a doubt the quintessential masters of less is more. It’s not the notes played but the silence between the notes. I can’t say how much I love Richard, Rick and Levon.
BEST LIVE RECORDING OF AN AMERICAN CLASSIC
EVER.
GOD BLESSED US ALL
WITH "THE BAND"
Lets us hope that in 500 years that if mankind has not destoried itself that it will still be listening to the music of The Band.
I can only hope for that people that attended The Last Waltz they realized they saw history, for the rest of us we will enjoy and appreciate this stellar performance by some of the finest musicians of our time.
for this performance alone, levon helm has earned a place in my heart forever.
Pouring his heart into the vocals and playing the drums on auto pilot. Insane talent
Rest in Peace Dear Robbie. Thank You for the music💙
Doesn't get any better. This is like a fine wine, gets better and better. These guys were amazing
The greatest combination of vocals and drumming ever...
Check out Levon's triplets with both hands together in every chorus (visually you can see it at :50. Effortless, clean, in the pocket). And he's not just singing in tune while doing it; he's giving it all of his soul. Levon Helm, my favorite singing drummer bar none.
No other song has ever moved the soul so deeply, or so completely!
Richard Manuel ignored in the back ground..... love him and of course *Rick Danko*
All premature deaths are sad but Richard Manuel's is especially heartbreaking. Alcoholism and addiction and suicide sucks
Not sure he was ignored as such. Might have been he was stoned or drunk as much as I love this singing he had serious alochol and drug problems. They all did drugs, including Robbie, which he is very open about in this book Testimony, but Richard was a serious addict, just couldn't stop or moderate.
This is comon curtecy nacional treasure and definicion off word klasik with klass...respekt..RIP
No more words...
This song, this band and Mr. Helm should be included in one of the ten best concert performances ever. What a talented man!
I really miss Levon. Guy was so genuine. True original spirit and talent.
People would chop wood for steamboats Leave it on the shores and a steamboat would come by and take the wood to burn in their boiler to power their engine. They would leave money for the wood on the wood pile not a lot of money as this song say's. The Robert E Lee was a famous steamboat that won a race against another famous steamboat The Natchez in New Orleans. Robbie dug up this history and added it to this great song genius. RIP Robbie.
Wow, thanks for that info!!!
@@none7114 Well I got the info from Wikipedia But the song kind of say's it There goes "the" Robert E Lee not there goes Robert E Lee?
Thanks for that info, I used to belt that song out when I was a little girl in Ireland, and I didn’t know what that meant regarding ‘ chopping wood’ now I know. Great band, real music💙
Fascinating. I believe that “the money’s no good” refers to Confederate (CSA) currency, which was not backed by gold, which became worthless when the Southern government fell.
Yeah Robbie must have looked up all this info in a library! because there wasn't any internet to help him out. And he wrote the song in Canada. How did writers get by without Wikipedia?
I would like to thank my Dad for introducing me to the Band! The only way to play their music is LOUD!!
Tony C it’s my step fathers favorite band .. took me years to appreciate how amazing they were.
My dad...Vietnam vet from Kentucky MADE me watch this when I was 12...thought he was drunk and crazy....44 now still here
Well you’re not alone
My dad too!
Dr. Sjonquist: I agree entirely. I never met the man, though was from Helena, Arkansas, which I’ve played more times than I could ever count. My late mother-in-law was from Helena. Born and raised.
Levon was one of the finest drummers this world will ever hear. He was a great influence on B.J. Wilson of Procol Harum, also one of my most beloved players.
Thank you for truly listening.
Dr. A. S. Long
Turkey Scatch AR. I thought
First of all... When Levon sings you can hear aching in his singing. Almost like a cry, passion!!! And the name of the band is "The Band" the epitome of a band name! it's like so simple, yet creative! if you truly know music, play an instrument, or have true feeling for soul then you will love the "Band" I rest my case!
There's twice as much talent on that stage than in all of the music industry today... not that there's not monster talent out there it's just largely ignored. Sad
Truly spectacular performance, Levon put absolutely everything into it. Wat a gift he gave.
Rip Levon, one of the Greatest of all time ❤