The night they drove old dixy down

[Gerard H. Pille]

Anybody knows the lyrics or able to tell me what the song is about? And who
interprets it?

--
Kind reGards,
Hwyl fawr,
Gerard
(G.P...@company-benelux.be; g...@skynet.be)

[AuntiSheik]

>Subject: The night they drove old dixy down

>Anybody knows the lyrics or able to tell me what the song is about?

Baez Joan
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Virgil Caine is my name, and I drove on the Danville train,
Til so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again.
In the winter of '65, 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 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

Back with my wife in Tennessee, and one day she said to me,
"Virgil, quick, come see, a-there goes Robert E. Lee!"
Now I don't mind choppin' wood, and I don't care if the money's no good.
Just take what ya 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 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

Like my father before me, I'm a working 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 Caine back up when its in defeat.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, and 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

[Darrowby]

"The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down"

Virgil Caine is my name and I drove on the Danville train
Till Sherman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
It was the summer of '65, we was hungry, just barely alive
By May the 10th Richmond had fell, it was a night I remember oh so well

The night they drove ol' Dixie down---all the bells were ringin'
The night they drove ol' Dixie down---all the people singi'
Nah nah n' nah n' nah (etc.)

Back home in Tennessee, my wife called out to me
"Virgil, come and look, there goes Robert E. Lee!"
Now I don't mind cuttin' wood, an' i don't mind that the money's no good
You take what you need and you leave the rest, but they should never have
taken the very best

(cho)

Like my father before me, I'm a working man

Like my brother above me, I took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen an' proud an' brave, an' a yankee laid him in his
grave
I swear by the blood below my feet you can't raise the cane back up when
it's in defeat

This is by the Band, covered by everybody else. Joan Baez and me, for
instance. What? Never heard of me?

It is about life soon after the American Civil War, the South overrun and
stripped of goods and wealth. Saying, "stomp on a place too hard and it is
difficult for it to revive."

Dennis

[Gunnar Hedlund]

The Band - The night they drove old dixie down

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,

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 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.

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.

peace, Gunnar

[John & Ella Grannis]

In article <199804060405...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
aunti...@aol.com (AuntiSheik) wrote:

> >Subject: The night they drove old dixy down
>
> >Anybody knows the lyrics or able to tell me what the song is about?
>
> Baez Joan
> The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
>
> Virgil Caine is my name, and I drove on the Danville train,
> Til so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again.
> In the winter of '65, 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 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
>

> Back with my wife in Tennessee, and one day she said to me,
> "Virgil, quick, come see, a-there goes Robert E. Lee!"

> Now I don't mind choppin' wood, and I don't care if the money's no good.

> Just take what ya 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 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
>

> Like my father before me, I'm a working 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 Caine back up when its in defeat.
>

> The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, and 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

This is an hisorically accurate song about the end of the Civil War as
told by a Confederate foot soldier. It was written by J.R. Robertson of the
Band. Check Gunnar Hedlund's post for the correct lyrics. The Danville
train ran on one the few East-West train lines that ran through the South.
The Confederacy had a major military disadvantage in moving troops and
material through its territory because most train lines ran North to South.
Stoneman's Cavelry was a Union unit that disrupted the Confederate war
effort by tearing up key rail lines. Apparently Joan Baez was unaware of
these hisorical details when she recorded her version of the song. I saw
her sing recently at Carnegie Hall. She performed the song with just a
fiddle and backup vocal harmony--beautiful! And she fixed the lyrics.
Peace - John G

i accept chaos. i am not sure it accepts me. -- Bob Dylan