"He ain't heavy, he's my brother"
What does that phrase mean?
Thanks in advance.
What does that phrase mean?
Thanks in advance.
"He ain't heavy, he's my brother"
It basically means that helping this person is not a burden on you because you care about them, and you are glad to do it.
It's the name of a hit from 1970 by the Hollies.
I understood it literally - he was carrying his brother, but I haven't got all the lyrics.
I understood it literally - he was carrying his brother, but I haven't got all the lyrics.
<<It basically means that helping this person is not a burden on you because you care about them, and you are glad to do it. >>
Well, could the PERSON be someone WHO ISN'T your brother?
And could the phrase be used for a FEMALE?
Well, could the PERSON be someone WHO ISN'T your brother?
And could the phrase be used for a FEMALE?
"Well, could the PERSON be someone WHO ISN'T your brother?"
WELL, that's what Uriel SAID.
WELL, that's what Uriel SAID.
It doesn't literally have to be a male sibling, no. Brother is often used to denote a sense of commonality or camaraderie or of belonging to the same group, as when soldiers refer to each other as "brothers in arms" or members of a church refer to each other as brothers (and sisters) in faith. Friends may refer to each other as brothers, and when we speak of brotherly love we aren't talking about incest. The brotherhood of man doesn't mean that all men are literally sharing one set of parents. Monastic orders aren't made up of family members, even though monks use "Brother" as a title. Blacks often refer to each other as brothers and sisters -- a slang term that shows their solidarity as a social and racial group -- so when you hear, "Give me a sister, I can't resist her", I'm pretty sure Sir Mixalot isn't having unsavory thoughts about a close relative.
You wouldn't normally use "brother" to denote a female in the same situations, but you would switch the term to "sister", and it would have the same implications as above. Thus we have sisterhoods of nuns, the sisterhood of the travelling pants, sisters a doin' it for themselves, etc.
You wouldn't normally use "brother" to denote a female in the same situations, but you would switch the term to "sister", and it would have the same implications as above. Thus we have sisterhoods of nuns, the sisterhood of the travelling pants, sisters a doin' it for themselves, etc.
Note: the song by the Eurythmics is "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves".