The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
My version of Canadian Robbie Robertson's (The Band) classic about the fall of the old south. It was a huge hit for Joan Baez in 1971.
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Story behind the song
I'm performing all the instruments and vocals here. The percussion was programmed using PC Drummer Pro.
This song is an enigma: It's about the fall of the old south during the American Civil war as seen through the eyes of a former Confederate soldier. It was written by a Canadian (Robbie Robertson), made into a huge hit by a woman (Joan Baez), and here in my version, sung by a born-and-bred Yankee....go figure! It's a great song nonetheless.
Lyrics
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 singin'. They went
La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La,
Back with my wife in Tennessee, When one day she called to me,
"Virgil, quick, come see, there goes the 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)
Like my father before me, I will work the land,
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.
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