The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

About The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is a song written by Robbie Robertson and originally recorded by the Canadian-American roots rock group The Band in 1969 and released on their eponymous second album. Levon Helm provided the lead vocals. The song is a first-person narrative relating the economic and social distress experienced by the protagonist, a poor white Southerner, during the last year of the American Civil War, when George Stoneman was raiding southwest Virginia. The song appeared at number 245 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Joan Baez recorded a version of the song that became a top-five chart hit in late 1971. more »

45 Views

Playlists:

#1

 Become A Better Singer In Only 30 Days, With Easy Video Lessons!

Virgil Caine is the name
And I served on the Danville train
'Til Stoneman's cavalry came
And they tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell
It's a time I remember, oh so well

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na"

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

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na"

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
But a Yankee laid him in his grave
And I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat

The night they drove old Dixie down
When all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na"

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And you could hear 'em all singing
They went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na"

 Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer

The Band

The Band were a Canadian-American roots rock group that originally consisted of Rick Danko (bass guitar, double bass, fiddle, trombone, vocals), Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboard instruments, saxophones, trumpet), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, baritone saxophone, vocals) and Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals). The members of the Band first came together as they joined rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins's backing group, The Hawks, one by one between 1958 and 1963. more »

Follow 9 fans