Song Lyrics

Virgil Cain is my 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
I took the train to Richmond had 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 singing
They went "La la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la"

Back with my wife in Tennessee
One day she came to me
"Virgil, Look, come see! There goes Robert E. Lee!"
Well I don't mind chopping wood
And I don't care if the money's no good
But you take what you need and leave the rest
And 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 singing
They went "La la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la"

Like my father before me
I am a working man
And like my brother above me
I took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen
Proud and brave
But a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the blood beneath my feet
You can't raise the cane back up when it's 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 singing

(La la la la la la, la la la la 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 all the people were singing

(La la la la la la, la la la la 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 all the people were singing

La la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la

Robbie Robertson

The duration of The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is 5:31 minutes and seconds.