72 year old here. We all understood in the 1960s that they were singing of the brotherhood of man. Yes, it is based on the Boys Town quote but this was the Age of Aquarius and we were all about our fellow humans.
Yes...thank you! Combat zone nurses are soooo underappreciated and underrecognized...until... you're cared for by one (or some) of these wonderful, caring, competent, resouceful, selfless professionals. God bless you all, thank you again!
Fifteen years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. My younger brother wanted to sell his prized special muscle car to pay for the treatment and when I reminded him of what that car meant to him he quoted this song to me. He didn't have to sell his car and I survived with treatment. Two weeks ago he passed away with bladder cancer. I sat with him every day for two weeks prior while he was in palliative care and this song ran through my head every day. I have never felt so useless in my life. He was eight years younger than me. He ain't heavy, he's my Brother...
I am a 53yr old Mother of 4 grown children; the 3 oldest have moved out and have their own lives and I even have 2 young grandchildren. My 4th child, grown at 20yrs old, will never be able to live on his own and has many medical needs and diagnoses that are lifelong. The biggest fear as a parent of a child like this, is what will happen to our child when we as parents are gone/who will take care of them when we cannot? This song is bittersweet and hits hard every time I hear it because a few years back, my oldest child called me to tell me that he feels and accepts the role and responsibility for taking care of his disabled brother when the time comes that someone else is needed. You have to know, that I cried like a baby out of relief, happiness, pride, sadness, gratitude, all the feelings. This song just reminds me of not only that phone call, but also that my disabled son will have a loving, willing, skillful caregiver who deep down believes and is willing to act on his belief, that "...he ain't heavy. He's my brother."
OMG! I was already crying with this song and then Renee-Suzanne I read your comment and it made me cry even harder! I think it was SO beautiful! I have an older brother and he has some problems! Peace and Blessings to you and your family from Australia.
@Renee-Suzanne, I am a 72 year old Mother of a disabled son, he has an older sister and she too has told me she will gladly be responsible for her brother. I was a teenager when this song came out and back then I cried hearing it but I cry now because of my son. I don't feel like it should my daughters responsibility to carry that load but she does insist that she wants to take care of him!!!
Glad to hear there is a sibling who will take care of his disabled brother. But I worry that all those parents who have this arrangement have not also spoken to an estate attorney who specializes in helping families transition from one caretaker to another. Particularly if there are programs like Medicaid and SSI involved. If you don't know an attorney who specializes in this, please do a google search and at the very minimum, arrange for an hour appointment to discuss Wills, funding, real estate, etc. It is imperative that upon your death that your estate not end up costing your disabled adult child his access to SSI and Medicaid funding. And check around about the attorney fees. The first attorney I spoke to was going to cost several thousand dollars while the wonderful attorney who did all my estate paperwork regarding my adult disabled son charged me a bit less than a thousand.
@@karendoss6026 That is a beautiful things! It really shouldn't be a sibling's responsibility, but my lord, I am so grateful as i am sure you are, that our other adult children are voluntarily willing to carry the load. All the best to you and your family. Nothing good or great in life comes easy!
This song came out during the Vietnam war and until this day i still have a hard time listening to it....remembering all my brothers in arms who didnt make it home....RIP Brothers. 🙏🇺🇸
Check out the video of a Graham Nash/David Crosby concert, where Allan Clarke, lead singer of The Hollies, joins Graham to sing Bus Stop. It's so cool!
Its about the brotherhood of man. "......I'm laden with sadness..that everyone's heart...isn't filled with a gladness...of love for one another." Speaking of harmonies Graham Nash of Crosby Still and Nash was an early member of The Hollies.
I am 67 yrs old and I told my older brother I want this song performed at my funeral if I pass first.He has always been there for me through drug and alcohol addiction without judgement.I love him so much I don't think he will ever know Thank you for doing this it made my day
This song always makes my heart full of memories from my years in the Navy. I always appreciated that the vast majority of my shipmates were male and were truly my brothers. It's a closeness that is stronger than blood at times. Thank you for the memories.
Me, too. I was a submariner and we were all particularly close. I look back with longing but with gratitude too for that deep brotherly feeling we had for each other. It really was all for one and one for all.
When I hear this song, I think of my brother. For over 20 years, we were firefighters together. We fought a lot of fires together. He passed on several years ago. Complications from the job. Now I'm facing some of the same issues, with 42 yrs. On the job. RIP all my brothers
The 60's were a completely different world. I feel so grateful to have lived through that time. It wasn't perfect but we really thought we could change the world for the better by loving and sharing each other's load. Beautiful memories and beautiful song.
im 70 years old and i can still hear my older brother singing this hollies song to me! he passed away in 2004.the hollies was one of his favourite groups
It’s the brotherhood of mankind. The “road” is life and this amazing song that’s even more relevant today is saying that if we all support each other, lead with love not hate & be prepared to all do a little extra along the way then everyone can make it down the road together. It’s so simple and true, if every person stopped judging and made even the smallest gestures to help those in need, whether next door or across the world together we could ease suffering and make incredible advances by directing our efforts to positive activities.
This song always was about the brotherhood of humanity. A couple of years ago my younger brother died. I was carrying his ashes and someone said is the container getting heavy for me. This song came to me and made me laugh. So now this song is about my brother and makes me smile.
The Hollies were very diverse in the type of music they produced. They always surprised you with their next tune. Great artists and very productive over the years.
The beauty of the message of this song is not just that it’s a call for all of us to unity and to love our brother (and sister), but also that when you love someone, helping and taking care of them is not a burden, they are not “heavy”. The song was inspired by an excerpt form book by a Scottish minister from the 1800s about a girl who was traveling home carrying her younger brother and someone stopped and asked “why are you carrying him? Isn’t he heavy? And her response was “ he’s not heavy, he’s my brother”.
Graham Nash was a founding member of The Hollies but he left the band just before the songs you have played so far. He went on to join Crosby and Stills (Crosby Stills and Nash) who also used a lot of great harmonies. The song "Bus Stop" was the Hollies first big hit and was written by a teenager who went on to be a founding member of 10CC.
It’s a particularly difficult time in the world right now, November 2024. Remember he doesn’t only mean your blood brother, when someone, even if you don’t know them, even if you perceive them as ‘not your family’, remember these words. ‘He shall not encumber me, he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’
This was played frequently on the radio shortly after my brother was taken from us in Vietnam. 55 years later, I never miss a chance to listen to this song & still tear up every time! Thank for playing it today.
I remember going to the dentist for the very first time. Looking at all those long needles. But then, this song came on. The dentist went to work as this song played. It was as though the lead singer was screaming for me. Thank you, Hollies
This is such a classic song, such an anthem, it goes way beyond being just a passing pop song. This is at the foundation of the meaning of all relationships, for what else have we been put here to do other than to lift and help each other, doing so with pride, purpose, and ease. True love.
This song also reminded people of Vietnam, it was played alot during that time. My dad was a medic on the front lines in Vietnam and he lost a lot friends, this song meant a lot.
I’m a 66 year old Ex vet and this song always makes me cry because it reminds me of a friend who died a few years back of cancer, this was one of her favourite songs and she always posted it. Taken too soon, R.I.P. Teresa. 🙏
Sorry to hear that, been through that myself. The dear friend who first introduced me to bands like War and Santana passed a couple year ago, still miss her.
Having been around when this song came out, this is about the brotherhood of all mankind. This is on my list of my favorite songs of all time. The messages of the songs from this time period resonate even more now because of how we have gone backward instead of forward as a society.
@@rubroken Yes, it depended on where you were. I live in Canada so it wasn't as bad. No race riots here in the 1960s. But there were still racists and bigots and people who hated.
When this song first hit the airwaves in '69, my generation listened in stunned silence while we all wept, having never heard anything as beautiful like it before and we knew in that moment, exactly the emotion he was expressing, while our nation was hopelessly mired in sheer carnage and brutality of the Vietnam War...
This would be my number 1 Hollies songs..A beautiful song still today..positive thoughtful and true..we are all one on this blue ball floating in space..love will never die when there are those of us who LOVE..and show LOVE Keep Safe Keep Strong 🦘🦘🦘🦘❤❤❤❤🎵🎵🎶🎶🎵🎵
The Hollies ( Manchester finest) released this in 1969,20 years later it was re realised by a group of Scouse( Liverpool) and other well known UK artists with the blessing of Alan Clarke and Graham Nash as a Charity single for the victims of the Hillsbrough disaster in 1989 It got to number one in the UK charts .I have always loved the song but for me it now has a extra special meaning as I had some old school friends who were amongst the 96 (now 97)football fans who on April 15th went to a FA Cup semi final at the Hillsbrough stadium in Sheffield and never came home.The story of Hillsbrough is a long one with so many issuses arising in its aftermath but it changed the way football is watched and viewed in the UK and the way ground policing and safety is now organised .
One of my mam’s favourite songs, every time I hear it I think of her. She was the eldest of 3, her brother was the youngest, she protected him fiercely A fantastic, timeless song, thanks for the great reaction & understanding the meaning
This has always been a favorite from The Hollies! Such a beautiful message in this song. 🎶 I don’t think you’ll have any trouble knowing what this is about. One of the greatest songs ever written. ❤😊
I was a tenor in my high school's 16-member madrigal group, and loved performing this song with them... GREAT memories... (and. ah, yes.... those were the days! . . .before the advent of modern high school show choirs)...
From the era during the Vietnam war. Many in the armed forces claimed this as the anthem for the field medics who put their own lives on the line to save fellow soldiers on the battlefield.
Can I relate? Yes. I had a realtor-friend with 2nd-floor offices. His much older brother who financed his education was a fixture in his office. After he had a stroke, he was unable to manage more than a shuffle. So I was surprised to see him in the 2nd-floor office and asked my friend how he got there, thinking maybe his walking was improving. But my friend replied "on my back". I looked at him. He shrugged and said "He's my brother." So I can't hear this song without thinking of them.
I always thought of Vietnam whenever I heard this song. It sounds like someone in the military telling his fellow soldiers that he has his brothers back. The word ‘heavy’ in the 60’s - 70’s meant a drag, cumbersome. That’s what I get from this song.
It's actually from the motto from "Boys Town", which is the same quote that one of the boys at "Boys Town" always carried another boy who had had polio, up the stairs and Father Flannagan asked "Isn't he heavy?" and the boy said "No, he ain't heavy, he's my brother". Same story told from the 1880s of a little girl carrying her brother who wasn't much younger than she......she said the same thing: "He's not heavy, he's my brother".
I really liked you all’s comments on this beautiful song. Growing up in the 70’s when I first heard this classic I really didn’t understand the song much, but the “ he ain’t heavy he’s my brother “ stood out to me, because of the close relationships that I had with my 2 younger brothers. As kids we was just so happy and we were buddies. I really loved each other as brothers. They both has passed and every time I hear this song on the radio I reminisce of the fun times we had playing and just clowning around. I really miss them, but I know we’ll be together again. Amen 🙏🏾
You summed the song up perfectly, in the late 70s I was in a band with my two older brothers and we used to sing this song. They are both gone now and this song is very special to me it takes me right back there with them. Only recently I was notified the drummer in another band I was in in the 80s has terminal cancer. There were four of us, we were called The Beatmakers, and for five years they were like my brothers. The rhythm guitarist has arranged for the remaining three of us to visit our buddy who is in hospital in palliative care, so that the four of us will be in the same room one last time. He ain't heavy he's our brother.
You described it perfectly. This was played at my very close cousins (like a brother) funeral. Every time I hear this, it always reminds me of him. The Hollies are soooo good. ❤
The Hollies were fans of the Everly Brothers and before they became famous they met them at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. From that meeting there developed a friendship where the Everlys encouraged them in their ambition to become singers. In some of their songs you can recognise the influence of the harmonies. I especially love their harmonies in “Stop all the Dancing” and then there’s their fun, light-hearted song, “I Love Jennifer Eccles”.
So glad i grew up in an age where the music promoted unity and brotherhood rather than taking from others, entitlement and " me,me,me".
yes i also grew up in this era the best era for music
72 year old here. We all understood in the 1960s that they were singing of the brotherhood of man. Yes, it is based on the Boys Town quote but this was the Age of Aquarius and we were all about our fellow humans.
71 here and this song still puts me in that time.
@@avatar997 64 year old kid here. Nicely said.
I’m 72 .. curious when they react to early 60s songs .. Bus Stop, On a Carousel ..
Just turned 69 here. The 60s and 70s were the best for music . . .
You were born in a time of using your brain lol
As a combat Nurse in Iraq.. this song, from so long ago hit me very deeply,
Thank you for caring enough to be there.
@Jim2017-my4zy thank YOU my man! 😎😐
@Jim2017-my4zy
Welcome Home
In country 2nd Corps Qui-Nhon, Pleiku June 67 to June 68
Yes...thank you! Combat zone nurses are soooo underappreciated and underrecognized...until... you're cared for by one (or some) of these wonderful, caring, competent, resouceful, selfless professionals. God bless you all, thank you again!
😢ty for your service ❤
Fifteen years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. My younger brother wanted to sell his prized special muscle car to pay for the treatment and when I reminded him of what that car meant to him he quoted this song to me. He didn't have to sell his car and I survived with treatment. Two weeks ago he passed away with bladder cancer. I sat with him every day for two weeks prior while he was in palliative care and this song ran through my head every day. I have never felt so useless in my life. He was eight years younger than me. He ain't heavy, he's my Brother...
Phil your brother knew you were there for him. He loved you as much as you loved him. Stay strong😊
Beautiful...just beautiful
Prayers sent for your healing ❤❤❤❤
I am a 53yr old Mother of 4 grown children; the 3 oldest have moved out and have their own lives and I even have 2 young grandchildren. My 4th child, grown at 20yrs old, will never be able to live on his own and has many medical needs and diagnoses that are lifelong. The biggest fear as a parent of a child like this, is what will happen to our child when we as parents are gone/who will take care of them when we cannot? This song is bittersweet and hits hard every time I hear it because a few years back, my oldest child called me to tell me that he feels and accepts the role and responsibility for taking care of his disabled brother when the time comes that someone else is needed. You have to know, that I cried like a baby out of relief, happiness, pride, sadness, gratitude, all the feelings. This song just reminds me of not only that phone call, but also that my disabled son will have a loving, willing, skillful caregiver who deep down believes and is willing to act on his belief, that "...he ain't heavy. He's my brother."
OMG! I was already crying with this song and then Renee-Suzanne I read your comment and it made me cry even harder! I think it was SO beautiful! I have an older brother and he has some problems! Peace and Blessings to you and your family from Australia.
@Renee-Suzanne, I am a 72 year old Mother of a disabled son, he has an older sister and she too has told me she will gladly be responsible for her brother. I was a teenager when this song came out and back then I cried hearing it but I cry now because of my son. I don't feel like it should my daughters responsibility to carry that load but she does insist that she wants to take care of him!!!
Glad to hear there is a sibling who will take care of his disabled brother. But I worry that all those parents who have this arrangement have not also spoken to an estate attorney who specializes in helping families transition from one caretaker to another. Particularly if there are programs like Medicaid and SSI involved. If you don't know an attorney who specializes in this, please do a google search and at the very minimum, arrange for an hour appointment to discuss Wills, funding, real estate, etc. It is imperative that upon your death that your estate not end up costing your disabled adult child his access to SSI and Medicaid funding. And check around about the attorney fees. The first attorney I spoke to was going to cost several thousand dollars while the wonderful attorney who did all my estate paperwork regarding my adult disabled son charged me a bit less than a thousand.
@@wendyryder2708 Thank you and the same to you and your family.
@@karendoss6026 That is a beautiful things! It really shouldn't be a sibling's responsibility, but my lord, I am so grateful as i am sure you are, that our other adult children are voluntarily willing to carry the load. All the best to you and your family. Nothing good or great in life comes easy!
This song came out during the Vietnam war and until this day i still have a hard time listening to it....remembering all my brothers in arms who didnt make it home....RIP Brothers. 🙏🇺🇸
😢😢😢 amen 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙌🙌
In my opinion, the ultimate Hollies song…when I think of them, I think “He Ain’t Heavy”!!!
Yes very true
The brother he is referring to is mankind. We need to support each other.
❤❤❤ true story prayers sent for my brother 🙏🙏 he's my brother 🙏🙏
A true 60's band. They were awesome.
The Hollies went well beyond the 60's.
The 60's and 70's were a great time to be alive!
Except for those of us that were in the military and in Vietnam, suffering for nothing.
There from Manchester 🏴 my home city a city responsible for some of the greatest music of all time! 😊
Lots of military guys relate to this. Probably their most popular. Certainly their most poignant.
I think you'll enjoy.
FYI the Hollies song is "Bus Stop" was released when I was in High School, still one of my all time favorites
Too right!
Check out the video of a Graham Nash/David Crosby concert, where Allan Clarke, lead singer of The Hollies, joins Graham to sing Bus Stop. It's so cool!
My 8th grade lunchtime jukebox song. Quarter in and play 5 times. LOL.
I forgot about that song … loved it
Yes! A great song as well.
Amazing Song 🙏🎵
Another one of those Perfect Songs. Wow 😳
Its about the brotherhood of man. "......I'm laden with sadness..that everyone's heart...isn't filled with a gladness...of love for one another." Speaking of harmonies Graham Nash of Crosby Still and Nash was an early member of The Hollies.
The Hollies were very versatile. Their songs were so different. You now need to listen to “Bus Stop”. You’ll love it. It’s so unique
I am 67 yrs old and I told my older brother I want this song performed at my funeral if I pass first.He has always been there for me through drug and alcohol addiction without judgement.I love him so much I don't think he will ever know Thank you for doing this it made my day
A very much underrated group that I loved.
This song always makes my heart full of memories from my years in the Navy. I always appreciated that the vast majority of my shipmates were male and were truly my brothers. It's a closeness that is stronger than blood at times. Thank you for the memories.
Me, too. I was a submariner and we were all particularly close. I look back with longing but with gratitude too for that deep brotherly feeling we had for each other. It really was all for one and one for all.
When I hear this song, I think of my brother. For over 20 years, we were firefighters together. We fought a lot of fires together. He passed on several years ago. Complications from the job. Now I'm facing some of the same issues, with 42 yrs. On the job. RIP all my brothers
My mother used to say this to me all the time to me growing up, "he ain't heavy, he's your brother". I always think of her when I hear this song.
How can a band have so many hits without any of them sounding like each other? So eclectic and rare...
A hymn to humanity. Just beautiful.
The 60's were a completely different world. I feel so grateful to have lived through that time. It wasn't perfect but we really thought we could change the world for the better by loving and sharing each other's load. Beautiful memories and beautiful song.
I’ve bee a Hollies fan since the 60’s. There is no song from that era that hits me emotionally hard as this one.
Being a teenager in the 60's, when i heard this song, made me think of boys in the Vietnam war. Bless all soldiers everywhere! Timeless!
I had 2 brothers in the navy during the Vietnam war
As a British group, the Hollies never
made it quite as big as ‘The Beatles’ but to me, they’re right up there alongside.
im 70 years old and i can still hear my older brother singing this hollies song to me! he passed away in 2004.the hollies was one of his favourite groups
One my favorite! The lyrics are so inspirational. ❤❤❤❤❤
It’s the brotherhood of mankind. The “road” is life and this amazing song that’s even more relevant today is saying that if we all support each other, lead with love not hate & be prepared to all do a little extra along the way then everyone can make it down the road together. It’s so simple and true, if every person stopped judging and made even the smallest gestures to help those in need, whether next door or across the world together we could ease suffering and make incredible advances by directing our efforts to positive activities.
This song always was about the brotherhood of humanity. A couple of years ago my younger brother died. I was carrying his ashes and someone said is the container getting heavy for me. This song came to me and made me laugh. So now this song is about my brother and makes me smile.
Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills and Nash was first a foundng member of The Hollies.
But had left when this was released also the air that I breathe both number one hits
There aren’t many perfect songs,but this is one of them.
I'm a 65 year old, was lucky enough to see them live at the winter Gardens theatre in Bournemouth. Tough times but there was some great music.
"The Air That I Breath" has always been my favourite.
It's a beautiful, moving song.
Must have listened to this song hundreds of times since the 60s, but it’s the first time I really got to appreciate Bobby Elliott’s drumming…criminal.
The Hollies were so good. Just love their songs, and what a great voice.
He Ain't Heavy brings me to tears every time I hear it. I'm ex forces and it has great meaning for us.
The Hollies were very diverse in the type of music they produced. They always surprised you with their next tune. Great artists and very productive over the years.
If I’m laden at all, I’m laden with sadness that every one’s heart isn’t filled with the gladness of love for one another. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
If you lived through the 60s and 70s you would understand the vision and hope of the message of unity. Complex times.
So so great!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
A most touching song...beautiful!
If I'm laden at all, I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another 🥰
The beauty of the message of this song is not just that it’s a call for all of us to unity and to love our brother (and sister), but also that when you love someone, helping and taking care of them is not a burden, they are not “heavy”. The song was inspired by an excerpt form book by a Scottish minister from the 1800s about a girl who was traveling home carrying her younger brother and someone stopped and asked “why are you carrying him? Isn’t he heavy? And her response was “ he’s not heavy, he’s my brother”.
I listen to it now ! i have a hard time ! My brother was found by his friends, hung on his chain-block in his garage. Broke my heart !🙏
Oh my, sweetheart. 💔😢💙
Graham Nash was a founding member of The Hollies but he left the band just before the songs you have played so far. He went on to join Crosby and Stills (Crosby Stills and Nash) who also used a lot of great harmonies. The song "Bus Stop" was the Hollies first big hit and was written by a teenager who went on to be a founding member of 10CC.
This song just takes over your soul and takes it for a ride and leaves it in a better place.
You hit the nail on the head. Very good job. This means a lot to me and the loss of my brother. Thank you
Bus Stop, Carrie Ann and Look Through Any Window are great songs by the Hollies.
It’s a particularly difficult time in the world right now, November 2024. Remember he doesn’t only mean your blood brother, when someone, even if you don’t know them, even if you perceive them as ‘not your family’, remember these words. ‘He shall not encumber me, he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’
When music was music , the glory days ........
Bus Stop is still one of my favorite Hollies songs.
and Stop Stop Stop.
This was played frequently on the radio shortly after my brother was taken from us in Vietnam. 55 years later, I never miss a chance to listen to this song & still tear up every time! Thank for playing it today.
I remember going to the dentist for the very first time. Looking at all those long needles. But then, this song came on. The dentist went to work as this song played. It was as though the lead singer was screaming for me. Thank you, Hollies
This is such a classic song, such an anthem, it goes way beyond being just a passing pop song. This is at the foundation of the meaning of all relationships, for what else have we been put here to do other than to lift and help each other, doing so with pride, purpose, and ease. True love.
This song also reminded people of Vietnam, it was played alot during that time. My dad was a medic on the front lines in Vietnam and he lost a lot friends, this song meant a lot.
The Hollies had fantastic harmonies. Songs like....Bus Stop or Carrie Anne or Sorry Suzanne... Hollies great harmonies. ❤
I’m a 66 year old Ex vet and this song always makes me cry because it reminds me of a friend who died a few years back of cancer, this was one of her favourite songs and she always posted it. Taken too soon, R.I.P. Teresa. 🙏
Sorry to hear that, been through that myself. The dear friend who first introduced me to bands like War and Santana passed a couple year ago, still miss her.
I feel for you! 💙😎👍
"Bus Stop" is my favorite Hollies song. Definitely worth checking out next! And the lyrics on it are both clever and very clear.
Written by Graham Gouldman ex 10cc
Having been around when this song came out, this is about the brotherhood of all mankind. This is on my list of my favorite songs of all time. The messages of the songs from this time period resonate even more now because of how we have gone backward instead of forward as a society.
Those were the days, what a wonderful time to be alive, the best era , the platinum period.
Agree completely. Unless you got sent to ‘Nam
@@helenespaulding7562 Or still dealing with racism
@@rubroken Racism will always be there until Jesus returns. It is part of so many people's carnal human nature. 🤷
@@ToddSauve My point was, for some, the 60's weren't all that good, while others say that it was almost a paradise
@@rubroken Yes, it depended on where you were. I live in Canada so it wasn't as bad. No race riots here in the 1960s. But there were still racists and bigots and people who hated.
I soooo wish we could have music like this back again.
Wow. Still brings a tear to my eye.
Love The Hollies track Too Young To Be Married just discovered it recently on an old tunes radio station in Australia plays 60's 70's 80's
When this song first hit the airwaves in '69, my generation listened in stunned silence while we all wept, having never heard anything as beautiful like it before and we knew in that moment, exactly the emotion he was expressing, while our nation was hopelessly mired in sheer carnage and brutality of the Vietnam War...
This song was the anthem for American Troops during the Vietnam War.
I was born in 1960… grew up hearing this all the 60’s and 70’s
This would be my number 1 Hollies songs..A beautiful song still today..positive thoughtful and true..we are all one on this blue ball floating in space..love will never die when there are those of us who LOVE..and show LOVE
Keep Safe Keep Strong 🦘🦘🦘🦘❤❤❤❤🎵🎵🎶🎶🎵🎵
Best version of this song ever. The one that set the bar high. BUS STOP is a really fun one
The motto is from Boys Town where a lad was carrying his brother. Perfect
So many of their tracks that you'll enjoy. My personal favourite is On A Carousel.
someone asked "why and how can you carry that person around all day" this is his reply.
The Hollies ( Manchester finest) released this in 1969,20 years later it was re realised by a group of Scouse( Liverpool) and other well known UK artists with the blessing of Alan Clarke and Graham Nash as a Charity single for the victims of the Hillsbrough disaster in 1989 It got to number one in the UK charts .I have always loved the song but for me it now has a extra special meaning as I had some old school friends who were amongst the 96 (now 97)football fans who on April 15th went to a FA Cup semi final at the Hillsbrough stadium in Sheffield and never came home.The story of Hillsbrough is a long one with so many issuses arising in its aftermath but it changed the way football is watched and viewed in the UK and the way ground policing and safety is now organised .
"Carrie Ann" is another of their hits with great harmonies. Love it when you guys get what the 60's and 70's were all about.😊
Graham Nash was a founding member in the early 60's before he hooked up with David Crosby and Stephen Stills to form Crosby Stills and Nash in 1968.
The best harmonising group ever ( from my home town ). There early songs are full of great harmonies
I've been listening to this song and The Hollies since I was a kid. I've always liked them.
60’s/70’s the best music for sure!
I love it---- Brian Birch
Beautifully produced. They got great support from their record label for having well produced songs.
Nice to hear some more music from my home town... keep it up!
One of my mam’s favourite songs, every time I hear it I think of her. She was the eldest of 3, her brother was the youngest, she protected him fiercely
A fantastic, timeless song, thanks for the great reaction & understanding the meaning
Might be the only pop song I have ever heard that uses the word "encumber" in the lyric... beautiful song and message.
This has always been a favorite from The Hollies! Such a beautiful message in this song. 🎶 I don’t think you’ll have any trouble knowing what this is about. One of the greatest songs ever written. ❤😊
thats how we felt in the 60s and I still do ........
I was a tenor in my high school's 16-member madrigal group, and loved performing this song with them... GREAT memories... (and. ah, yes.... those were the days! . . .before the advent of modern high school show choirs)...
From the era during the Vietnam war. Many in the armed forces claimed this as the anthem for the field medics who put their own lives on the line to save fellow soldiers on the battlefield.
I'm not sure of the rest of your audience, but I still remember the emotional reaction I had the first time I heard it. ♥
Can I relate? Yes. I had a realtor-friend with 2nd-floor offices. His much older brother who financed his education was a fixture in his office. After he had a stroke, he was unable to manage more than a shuffle. So I was surprised to see him in the 2nd-floor office and asked my friend how he got there, thinking maybe his walking was improving. But my friend replied "on my back". I looked at him. He shrugged and said "He's my brother." So I can't hear this song without thinking of them.
Played at my brother’s funeral in February 2020. Always made me cry x
I always thought of Vietnam whenever I heard this song. It sounds like someone in the military telling his fellow soldiers that he has his brothers back. The word ‘heavy’ in the 60’s - 70’s meant a drag, cumbersome. That’s what I get from this song.
It's actually from the motto from "Boys Town", which is the same quote that one of the boys at "Boys Town" always carried another boy who had had polio, up the stairs and Father Flannagan asked "Isn't he heavy?" and the boy said "No, he ain't heavy, he's my brother". Same story told from the 1880s of a little girl carrying her brother who wasn't much younger than she......she said the same thing: "He's not heavy, he's my brother".
I really liked you all’s comments on this beautiful song. Growing up in the 70’s when I first heard this classic I really didn’t understand the song much, but the “ he ain’t heavy he’s my brother “ stood out to me, because of the close relationships that I had with my 2 younger brothers. As kids we was just so happy and we were buddies. I really loved each other as brothers. They both has passed and every time I hear this song on the radio I reminisce of the fun times we had playing and just clowning around. I really miss them, but I know we’ll be together again. Amen 🙏🏾
You summed the song up perfectly, in the late 70s I was in a band with my two older brothers and we used to sing this song. They are both gone now and this song is very special to me it takes me right back there with them. Only recently I was notified the drummer in another band I was in in the 80s has terminal cancer. There were four of us, we were called The Beatmakers, and for five years they were like my brothers. The rhythm guitarist has arranged for the remaining three of us to visit our buddy who is in hospital in palliative care, so that the four of us will be in the same room one last time. He ain't heavy he's our brother.
I love this song by them. Touches
You described it perfectly. This was played at my very close cousins (like a brother) funeral. Every time I hear this, it always reminds me of him. The Hollies are soooo good. ❤
Hollies from Manchester, England great band, gasoline alley another great song.
As a youngster this song was a huge hit with the older guys who were off to war as teens.
The Hollies were fans of the Everly Brothers and before they became famous they met them at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. From that meeting there developed a friendship where the Everlys encouraged them in their ambition to become singers. In some of their songs you can recognise the influence of the harmonies. I especially love their harmonies in “Stop all the Dancing” and then there’s their fun,
light-hearted song, “I Love Jennifer Eccles”.