The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Lyrics
Joan Baez
Lyrics
Virgil Caine is my name and I drove on the Danville train
In the winter of sixty-five, we were hungry, just barely alive
I took the train to Richmond that fell
It was a time I remember, oh, so well
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin'
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"
Back with my wife in Tennessee and one day she said to me
"Virgil, quick, come see, there goes Robert E. Lee"
Now, I don't mind, I'm chopping wood
And I don't care if the money's no good
Just take what you need and leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin'
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"
Like my father before me, I'm a workin' man
And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand
Well, he was just eighteen, proud and brave
But a yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the blood below my feet
You can't raise the Cain back up when it's in defeat
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin'
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"
Song & Lyrics Facts
Joan Baez's classic folk song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was released in 1969 on her album of the same name. Written by Robbie Robertson, it tells the story of the last days of the American Civil War from the perspective of a Confederate soldier.
The song features Joan Baez's signature guitar-playing and vocal style as well as subtle accompaniment from members of The Band, including Levon Helm on drums and Rick Danko on bass. It has become one of Joan Baez's most beloved songs and is often cited for its poetic lyrics which capture the sentimentality of the South during Reconstruction.