"Heavy" is a song by American post-grunge band Collective Soul. It is the second single from their fourth album Dosage. It was the last of the band's seven number ones on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, as well as their most successful, staying atop the chart for 15 weeks. It was also their last song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 73. It was featured as one of two songs in NHL 2001.
Composition
In a December 2017 interview with Songfacts, lead singer Ed Roland explained the inspiration behind "Heavy". Referencing Collective Soul's earlier hit, "December", he said:
Once again, I wanted to write a song that didn't have a title in the lyrics. So, once again, I was being a little bitch I guess - I felt like I was being taken advantage of, so the whole thing is, "All your weight it falls on me."
I was looking for a word that would fit what I was describing, like "All your weight it falls on me, it brings me down." The riff I felt was a heavy riff, so, "Heavy" just came up. And I wanted a song down to three minutes - I wanted it to move quick. That was written after we thought the record was done, and the guys were like, "No, we need to get this one in there." And I agreed wholeheartedly.[1]
