The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Joan Baez sings The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Written by Canadian musician Robbie Robertson in 1969, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down first appeared on The Band’s self-titled second album. It’s been recorded by many including Joan Baez, John Denver and The Grateful Dead.

The lyrics speak of the final seige of the Civil War which lasted from June 1864 to April 1865 when Petersburg and Richmond finally fell to the Yanks; Confederate troops were literally starving at the end and the Southern states were in economic and emotional shambles.

The tune ranks high on Rolling Stone’s Best 500 Songs Ever Written list.

Reference: Wikipedia.org

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Here’s the original recording by The Band:

John Denver had a memorable cover of it:

Dedicated Folkslingers MUST own a copy of the Joan Baez version:




The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Written by J. Robbie Robertson 1969

1
Virgil Caine is the name and I rode on the Danville train
‘Til Stoneman’s cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of sixty-five, we were hungry just barely alive
By May tenth Richmond had fell
It was a time I remember oh so well

Sing this chorus at the beginning, between each verse, and at the end:

The night they drove old Dixie down and the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down and the people were singing, they went
Na, na na na na na, na na na na na, na na na

2
Like my father before me I will work the land
And like my brother above me who took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen, proud and brave when a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can’t raise a Caine back up when he’s in defeat

3
Back with my wife in Tennessee when one day she called to me
Virgil, quick come see, there goes Robert E. Lee
Now I don’t mind choppin’ wood and I don’t care if the money’s no good
You take what you need and leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best