This page has lyrics to The Weight which are slightly different to Ian's. In particular, the "Crazy Chester" verse is different enough to twist it away from that interpretation. Don't know which are the actual lyrics - it's one of those songs which doesn't seem to mean too much to anyone except the guys who wrote it, but it's still a damn fine song to sing. The same site also has this which pulls together a lot of comments on the song from members of The Band and some critics.

Grab.