The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down ( * And I Drove On The Danville Train * )
Written By J. Robbie Robertson

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 ringin' The night they drove old Dixie down And all the people were singin' They went, "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, ..... "

Like my father before me, I'm a working man And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand Oh, he was just 18, proud and brave But a yankee laid him in his grave I swear by the blood below my feet You can't raise a Cane back up when he'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, ..... "

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-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

The night they drove old Dixie down and 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

Like my father before me, I will work the land And like my brother before 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

The night they drove old Dixie oown and 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

The night they drove old Dixie down and all the bells were ringing The night they drove old Dixie down and the people were singin', they went Na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na