“Virgil, quick, come see/
There goes the Robert E. Lee”

Just like The Eagles started as the backup band to Linda Ronstadt, The Band started as the backup band to Bob Dylan. It turns out they were great too. “The Night They Drove Ol Dixie Down” is a great song about the South’s perspective on the Civil War. (“Dixie” is another term for the Confederate South.)

The story is told by every-man Virgil Caine who recalls the conflict from his perspective. I really like this song and books like Gone With The Wind because it helps humanize the south. Note there is no mention of slavery. What there is is a devout love of home, tradition, family and their side. It is very unlikely Virgil owned slaves. Like almost every other war in history, he is just an average citizen who is caught up in circumstances that have been determined by people more powerful than him.

“The Night They Drove Ole Dixie Down” sounds old. That is purposeful. The idea was to make it sound like it was a civil war era song. They mostly accomplish this. The song was written by guitarist Robbie Robertson and sung by drummer Levon Helm (the namesake for Elton John’s Levon). Their relationship was very acrimonious, but that almost seems to be true of all bands. This song is an unlikely hit. More than anything, I think it shows that a great song can be about any topic, and there are lots of areas still to be explored.

The Night They Drove Ol Dixie Down 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

The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, “Na, la, la, la, na, na
La la, na, na, 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
You take what you need and you leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, “Na, la, la, la, na, na
La la, na, na, la, la, la, la, la”

They went, “Na, la, la, la, na, na
La la, na, na, la, la, la, la, la”

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, “Na, la, la, la, na, na
La la, na, na, la, la, la, la, la”.