The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

From the 1978 film 'The Last Waltz'

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 tenth, Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember, oh so well,

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 singin'. They went,
Na, Na, 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,
Said "Virgil, quick, come and 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.

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 singin'. They went,
Na, Na, 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 singin'. They went,
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na,
Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na,
Na, Na, Na,

• Category

  Music

[Richard Cole]

best recording of this song ever. its not even up for discussion

[angercanbepower]

Wars today are about the poor fighting for the rich, and innocent people being sacrificed for the greed of a few, and I imagine the Civil War was no different. This song is hardly about a slave owner (who were the wealthy minority) - it's about a regular person's loss and suffering. Ignore the labels for a second and see the human side of things. Sometimes good people get put into situations that are out of their control... This song actually gave me a new perspective on the South. RIP Levon

[labruma5]

Old Dixie, General Jackson, The Confederates, Levon, The Band, General Lee, the brave men and muried fightin in all wars, this song, the beginning of Brasses, the Union, Tennessee, God, and all the people were singin '. They went ...

[John Joseph Young]

they don't make bands like this anymore.

[Bruce Wofford]

Collectively, the Band was better live than recorded. American music, North America. I think God broke the one and only mold. Very awe-inspiring band. Unique but very familiar sound. Every time they put out a new album; every song hit the radio. Comfort music. Made you feel at home.

[busterbone]

It's about a horse named Dixie that had to be put down

[TheReelRiles]

Actually know what you are talking about before you bash a songs message.

[j6818]

Absolutely loved him!! Thanks for putting this up!!!

[Kim Cornell]

Levon Helm is the ONLY exception in history to the "Never Let The Drummer Sing Lead" rule of rock n' roll!

[Stig Thundercock]

Have you read the lyric? This in no way defends slavery. It's the story of how people on both sides of a conflict suffer. It's too often forgotten, in the glory of 'winning', that not everyne caught on the 'wrong' side desrves to suffer.

[upinarms79]

No, it's a song about how sad it was that states who were promised they could leave the federal entity they whenever they wanted were beaten and forced back under rule of that federal entity. Maybe you just forgot that the thirteenth amendment, which outlawed slavery, didn't come until after the defeat of the Confederacy. if the Lincoln and the US were looking to eradicate slavery because of it's immorality, they sure took their sweet time doing it.