Download "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"
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The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band
Release Date
Performed by
The BandProduced by
John SimonWrited by
Robbie RobertsonAbout
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down was recorded by the Band in 1969 and released on their second self-titled album. The song, written by Robbie Robertson, talks about the last days of The Civil War and the suffering of the white southerners.
The song was very famously performed at their last conce...
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Lyrics
[Verse 1]:
Virgil Caine is the name and I served on the Danville train
'Til Stoneman's cavalry came and 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
[Chorus]:
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, "La, la, la"
[Verse 2]:
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
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best
[Chorus]
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, "La, la, la"
[Verse 3]
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
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat
[Chorus]
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, "La, la, la"
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, "La, la, la"
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Q&A
Who wrote The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down's ?
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down was written by Robbie Robertson.
Who produced The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down's ?
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down was produced by John Simon.
When did The Band release The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down?
The Band released The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down on Mon Sep 22 1969.
What did The Band say about "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"?
The song was written by a Canadian, who needed to learn about this segment of US history.
Per Levon Helm, the only American in “The Band” –
I remember taking him to the library so he could research the history and geography.
Does " the Robert E. Lee" refer to the man of the paddle steamer?
Some versions of the song (such as Joan Baez’s cover and the Band’s live version on Rock of Ages) include a “the”, which suggests the Mississippi steamboat named after the Confederate general. But in this version of the lyrics, the line presumably refers to the man, not the boat.