The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (1969) w/Lyrics [720p HD] ~ORIGINAL VIDEO~

[j1mmyd33]

I'm sorry if this was asked before, but I'm watching this on an iPhone. What's the rendition of "I Wish I Was in Dixie" you have at the end of the video?

By the way, you made the right choice by using the live version. I haven't heard it in a while and this video has reminded me how much energy it has. Well done!

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@j1mmyd33

Wow, you know you're the first person to ask since I uploaded the video and although I still have the song, I'm having difficulty tracking it's source!? Thought I had it a couple of times, but then after listening to the suspected version found that this is not the case...now you got me wondering!!! (Thanks for sending me from one end of the internet to the other looking for it, btw! LOL!)....give me a little more time.

Thanks for the kind thoughts on the choices for the video!

[timryan80]

Is there a better American Folk Singer than Levon Helm?

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@timryan80

You know, there may not be? Anyone doubting the claim need only listen to his amazing and critically acclaimed (and Grammy winner for Best Traditional Folk album) masterpiece album Dirt Farmer from 2007. This is a very special singer, and a true artist.

[NMM1971]

This is bad ass my friend

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@NMM1971

Thanks my friend for checking it, liking it, and commenting!

[JeDaaRe1]

Amazing video, thanks mate.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@JeDaaRe1

Much thanks, my friend for checking it and for the comment!

[321boomable]

I would like the confederates if they werent so supportive of slavery but I like the fight for independence and the way this song was written for it

[historyt84]

Great video, great song. Thank you for sharing it.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@historyt84

Thank you.....happy you enjoyed the effort!

[csky1324]

too bad the civil war wasnt fought over slavery and the south will rise again

[Carpetlay1]

Sorry metalgurumassiah

[Carpetlay1]

I'd like to thank Foaroan and metalmassiahguru for their advise. I'm not sure If The Ken Burns thing has ever been broadcast in UK. But I'll definitely be looking out for The book by Shelby Foot. I bet it's very exspensive. There was a program on BBC4 recently about Abraham Lincoln. It was called Saint or Sinner? It was excellent. Thanks again.

[basehead617]

Nice song, but it's just a fiction. Thank God the south lost. Being on the wrong side of slavery was as wrong as you could be. And without a union, neither the US or the confederacy would be even top 10 players on the world stage today.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@basehead617

Not sure what exactly you mean by "just a fiction". I agree if you are referring to some of the poetic license in the lyrics...well documented, but if you mean the song in general, well I disagree completely. There is a truth in the song that makes it sound like it was written in 1865....this truth makes it special.

The song is simply the end of the war through one character's eyes...a confederate soldier. The song isn't saying that the South should have won the war.

Thanks!

[roger30424]

@MetalGuruMessiah The BAND! is from Canada. It is just a song! The rest is History!

[rob61LEE]

@MetalGuruMessiah Amen Brother! Very well done, the best version I've seen.

[1stSaintsFan]

@basehead617 ...basehead I am in the Sons of the Confederacy and the song means alot to me and my family. I had great grandfathers who fought in The War for Southern Independence..My family has passed down the memorie and the true history of our families plight during and after the War..Being invaded and Reconstruction wasn't easy. One member was in the Tenn. 3rd who did display the Confed. Battle Flag..He surrendered in Vicksburgh...La., Tex, Miss, Ala, Tex, Ok., Ark....Oil states.

[0ofreako0]

@1stSaintsFan no real southerner calls it that ok. it's 'the war of northern aggression'.

[1stSaintsFan]

@0ofreako0 ....Yeah right...There are two different ways to say PECAN. People in different parts of the South pronounced two different ways...Doesn't mean both are wrong...

[cardecoder]

@basehead617 The reason for the war was not at least release the slaves, but the unification of North American countries to facilitate the enslavement of their people. Maybe you do not realize that you are a slave, but if you look at it and more time thinking how you doing and what you have and how people work and what they have at the end of it and how to rob the bank of fraud and brought into the tent ... you can see real reason for the war then and now. Long live Serbia

[tommyonepercenter]

@basehead617 WOW MAN PASS THAT SHIT OVER HERE ! son did ya vote for obamy too ? the SOUTH FOUGHT TO PROTECT THERE RIGHT TO DECIDE ! ! ! pretty much what were gonna be doing in november . now there are lots of idiots that think its black vs. white but thats not it ! it wasent about slavery ! AND LOOK HOW NICE THINGS TURNED OUT ! get a book . there were BLACKS THAT FOUGHT FOR THE SOUTH ! and most prominant YANKEES read rich OWNED SLAVES UNTILL THE END OF THE WAR !

[LipstickLiesBand]

Great video. Check out our version of the song.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@LipstickLiesBand

Thanks! I will definitely check your version.

Appreciate the comment.

[Gymnastforever4427]

I absolutely LOVE this song! I rally love the Civil War and I FLIPPED OUT when I first heard this song! Great video!

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@Gymnastforever4427

Thank you so much for watching the video and for commenting....happy you enjoyed it!

[Carpetlay1]

Fantastic song fantastic vidio.Well done. I would to get a book about American civil war. Could you reccommend one I'm not interested in propaganda from either side so one that is impartial as possible.Thank you.

[Foaroan]

@Carpetlay1

If you want a massive, but immensely readable account of the Civil War, i'd go buy Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative.

I also highly recomment Ken Burn's equally massive tv-series The Civil War.

[Foaroan]

@Foaroan

Apologies for my spelling in the above post. Bit of a hangover here...

Forgot to say: great video to accompany this great song, really well done.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@Carpetlay1

Thanks for the kind comment! Glad you liked the effort. Sorry, it's taken me so long to comment back, but I"d definitely agree with what Foaroan is recommending...Ken Burn's series is beautifully well done.....and Shelby Foote is a frequent interview in the series.

[sartainja]

This song is the unofficial anthem of the "New South." The south that reinvented itself after the Civil War and the Great Depression.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@sartainja

Certainly one of the most beautiful songs written about the "Old South".......thanks so much for the comment.

[kneapoe51]

Amazing vid. I've always loved the tune & The Band's music but this makes the tune much more enjoyable. That doesn't fully describe my feelings.....much more difficult to do that honestly. Feel more "involved" with a tune that I've always deeply understood & felt,especially considering where I am from. Impossible in a historical context, to NOT feel a deep "connection", irregardless of politics. SEEING this & knowing that it hasn't been THAT long ago makes it that much more poignant for me. : D

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@kneapoe51

Yeah, this song is just a masterpiece on every level. The Last Waltz is without a doubt the greatest rock n roll film of all time......the performances, including this one, are all stellar.

This has been by far my most popular video yet and I'm thrilled that I was able to come even close to capturing images that were even close to those that played in my (and other fans') mind when I hear the song.

Music so powerful and beautiful is rare & special. Glad you connected with the vid.

[witpix]

Great song and video. Im not from USA but the song epitomises the struggle of a smaller country against a larger, greedier and more corrupt neighbour.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@witpix

Thanks....glad you liked the video and commented on it. I think the narrative on the song is just about perfect.

[Dolomede]

This is one of the best videos on You Tube. You have worked and planned so well to match thie images in this video to a truly great song by a great band. Thanks you.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@Dolomede

A very, very generous comment....thank you for it!

This video was one of the most difficult I ever made, not the concept or structure for the video, because I was so inspired and it all came together exactly as I had envisioned it in my mind, but I just experienced so many technical difficulties at every turn. I stayed up almost the entire night trying to get it to render properly. A simple video really, but man, did it give me grief!

An amazingly powerful and emotional song.

[gwolf815]

Great Artistic Job!

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@gwolf815

Thanks so much.......amazing song, glad you liked the video effort.

[Pucknut3ond]

Nice work!

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@Pucknut3ond

Thank You!

[kirkimuskid]

sweet video, WOW!



[MetalGuruMessiah]

@kirkimuskid

Thanks very much.....I'm glad you liked it! Also big thanks for the comment.....I do appreciate it.

[sartainja]

Great job. I love that you include the original version of Dixie on your version. The South lost so much in a war that they fought such a notable effort. It is such a moving song.

I have read where Levon Helm has never sang the song in concert since Robbie did not give him any credit for help write it.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@sartainja

Thank you so much my fellow ex-rebel! Yeah, this tune is just perfect in every sense of the word.....lyrically, melodically......sung with incredible emotion by Levon. Others have commented about the animosity between the Levon and Robbie, but I didn't even know there was an issue.....sad, just an amazing group of musicians.....it took them all to create such an amazing body of work. I love THE BAND!

Thanks so much for the kind words.

[Txboy85A]

Man, this video is BADASS!!! I freakin love it! Great job.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@Txboy85A

Thank you for thinking so highly of the video! Comments like this make the effort of creating the video, in this case maybe or so 30 hours, more than worth the effort. It's so great to find the people who connect to your work! Thanks so much for watching and taking the time to comment.

[rockinroller7]

Jesus,, from a vision standpoint, my eyes were already watering from the emotion in the photowork and the song, but when the bells began to ring, chills ran up and down my spine.

The video work completely puts this song on an even higher level.

Thanks so much for sharing it with me Jon.

Peace.

Rock

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@rockinroller7

It's an incredibly emotional and haunting song that I've always connected to on a deep level. And I am glad you felt the bells gave it an extra emotional punch.....I always thought they would sound great and was happy to find a clip that would work without overdoing it.

Anyway, I'm just happy to be able to find some fans who enjoy my efforts....it's so great to have a way to connect with others who share common interests in music.. Thank you for your encouragement and support!

[Wolfen443]

@MetalGuruMessiah, excellent work a very moving video.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@Wolfen443

Thanks so much for watching it and for letting me know you liked it!

[waxdcrump222]

You must be proud of this video as it is fabulous and full of history. I love the Band.  His voice is so rich and full of the emotion the words demand. Thanks.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@waxdcrump222

Thanks so much for the comment, JO! I"m a huge fan of this song and The Band and was excited to try my hand on the video. I agree with you 1000"% about Levon's singing on this song, incredible and soulful.

[harbijhan777]

Hey I would just like to say that the music video is the best I have seen and would like to congratulate for making such a good video.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@harbijhan777

Thanks Den, for the very cool comment! I'm really glad you liked the video.

[nooze7]

Listen to Levon Helms drums and Rick Danko's bass. Stellar! Thanks for posting!

Levon singing. Levon most likely composed it but got ripped off for song writing royalties by Robbie Robertson. You can read Greil Marcus' book about it

An that is why Levon hates Robbies guts. Why Robbie is a bloated sack who is worth a few million while Levon is still a working musician.

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@nooze7

It really is Levon's incredible soulful singing that makes this song.....and The Band were all extraordinary musicians, each in their own right. Interesting comment about Levon and Robbie, I wasn't aware that there was this level of animosity between the two....unfortunate that so many great bands/partnerships end up on the same rocks.

While many younger people pick up on great acts like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, etc and these great artists are constantly finding new...

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@MetalGuruMessiah

.....fans, others like The Band, struggle to find the audience. It's a shame really, cause they had so much great music....more people need to listen to The Band's catalog of amazing work.

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[MetalGuruMessiah]

@Hippie1944

Thanks Hip! I LOVE The Band.