Weight of the World

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General information

Written by: A. Lee and T. Balsamo

Weight of the World is the third track from the band's second studio album, The Open Door. The working title for this song was Fuckallyall.

It is described as a song about Amy's "plea for perspective from the expectation of young fans" by Evanescence.com.

A music box and a toy piano, which Amy kept since she was a child, were played during the song's verses.

Amy's description of the song:

"Weight of the World" is a song about feeling the pressure of that and I love our fans and I don't mean, get off my back, I don't want this pressure. It's interesting, playing shows and meeting fans after the show and going to the different Web sites, the fan sites and seeing all these personal experiences that people are sharing and all the advice and answers to questions that they are trying to get from me. I do answer sometimes and I do want to go on. I do want to be there for people and tell them what I think but at the same time, I'm not a therapist and I'm not a doctor and I don't have all the answers for the meaning of life. That's the thing about our music is that it's deep and I'm trying to find the answers and I guess in that song I was really expressing that this is kind of a lot of pressure sometimes and I wanted to definitely say to all those fans, I'm not a prophet and I don't have all the answers, so you really need to look within yourself and start that journey on your own.

Songs like "Weight of the World" and "Sweet Sacrifice" and "All That I'm Living For" are so amazing to me because of the adrenaline. Especially when we play them live.

She told Spin magazine:

I was expressing that it feels like so much responsibility that God in heaven gave me a turn. I felt all this pressure from fans who feel I can solve their problems. That song was about rejecting that pressure, like, "Don't make me a role model! I don't have the answers!" But I'm all about making people feel like they're not alone. One fan told me they were seriously contemplating suicide, but that night they were playing our album, something pulled them back from the edge. I know how it feels to be completely alone and helpless, and the last thing you want to hear in that situation is "It's going to be okay." The only thing that seems to really help is that someone else who has felt that low expressing those feelings to you.

Weight of the World was released as a radio single in Colombia in October 2007, the fourth overall single off of The Open Door. The song was added to the setlist of the album's tour during 2006-07. The song has also been performed at the NYC Secret Show on November 4, 2009, and at the Maquinaria Festival in Brazil on November 8, 2009. It was later added to the setlist to support Evanescence in 2011-12.

Even though Weight of the World wasn't included on the re-imagined album, Synthesis, they played a reworked version during the Synthesis Live tour at the Chicago Theatre in Illinois on November 30, 2017. This version received a huge positive reaction from fans. Amy confirmed that a studio version of this does not exist, and that there are no plans to record more Synthesis-style songs.

In an interview, Jen Majura explained why the band decided to play Weight of the World in the Synthesis tour:

So we did two U.S. tours and in between there was a little break where we were like ‘okay, let’s see, what can we improve, what can we add and what can we change for the second tour to make the show more powerful, or maybe add another song’ and so we all came up with Weight Of The World. I was intrigued because it’s got that oriental kind of, I don’t know why, but it’s got a different flavour. So we added that song and everybody at home prepared some sounds and thoughts about how to do that, and so we met up before the second tour and we tried it in rehearsals and worked on it for like two hours and it turned out to be this rad version. Play-wise, on guitar, it’s one of my favourite songs in the Synthesis set, because it’s really fun to play.

Versions

Studio Versions:

Weight of the World

• Recording date: September 2005 - March 2006
• Status: Released
• Released on:

The Open Door (track #3)

"Weight of the World" promotional single (track #5)

• Length: 3:38

Live Versions:

Weight of the World [Live]

• Performing period: October 5, 2006 - December 8, 2007; November 4 - November 8, 2009; August 17, 2011 - November 9, 2012; April - November 2016
• Status: Released
• Released on: "Sweet Sacrifice" Single
• Length: 3:42

Weight of the World [Acoustic]

• Performing period: September 2006
• Status: Unreleased
• Length: Unknown
• Example: Kerrang The Open Door preview in London, UK (September 6)

Weight of the World [ Synthesis Live ]

• Performing period: November 30 - December 19, 2017
• Length: approximately 4:02
• Example: Chicago Theatre, Chicago, Illinois (November 30, 2017)

Weight of the World [Live 2019 Medley]

• Performing period: May - September 26, 2019
• Status: Unreleased
• Example: Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, FL (May 5)

Weight of the World [Live 2023 Big Medley]

• Performing period: June 2 - June 9, August 24 - October 28, 2023
• Status: Unreleased
• Example: Rock im Park 2023, Nuremberg, Germany (June 2, 2023)

Lyrics

Feels like the weight of the world
Like God in Heaven gave me a turn
Don't cling to me, I swear I can't fix you
Still in the dark, can you fix me?

Freefall, freefall, all through life

If you love me, then let go of me
I won't be held down by who I used to be
She's nothing to me

Feels like the weight of the world
Like all my screaming has gone unheard
And oh, I know you don't believe in me
Safe in the dark, how can you see?

Freefall, freefall, all through life

If you love me, then let go of me
I won't be held down by who I used to be

If you love me, then let go of me
I won't be held down by who I was

If you love me, then let go of me
I won't be held down by who I used to be

Colombia radio release

"Weight of the World"
Single by Evanescence
from the album The Open Door
Released	October 2007
Format	CD single
Producer	Dave Fortman
Evanescence singles chronology
"Sweet Sacrifice" (2007) "Weight of the World" (2007) "Good Enough" (2007)

"Weight of the World" was released as a promo radio single in the singles compilation The Ones International Vol.11, under Sony label. The "Weight of the World" version featured on this compilation is the same of the one in The Open Door, 3:38 minutes long, with no edits.

Status: Out of print
Label: Sony/BMG
Cat.no: none

1. "Beautiful Girls" - Sean Kingston
2. "Over My Head (cable car)" - The Fray
3. "The Story" - Brandi Carlile
4. "Hot" - Avril Lavigne
5. "Weight of the World" - Evanescence
6. "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters
7. "Into the Night" - Santana feat. Chad Kroeger
8. "No One" - Alicia Keys
9. "Taking Chances" - Celine Dion
10. "Gimme More" - Britney Spears
11. "Do it well" - Jennifer Lopez
12. "Lovestoned/I Think She Knows" - Justin Timberlake
13. "Inconsolable" - Backstreet Boys
14. "Nessun Dorma" (bonus track) - Paul Potts

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  Front and Back cover

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  Insert and disc