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The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
| "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cover by Rivers Cuomo | ||
| Length | 4:26 | |
| Writer(s) | Robbie Robertson | |
"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is a song written by Robbie Robertson and recorded in 1969 as the third track for the second eponymous album by rock group The Band. Rivers Cuomo has covered the song.
Contents
Appearances
Overview
A cover version dated 2007 appeared on the spreadsheet The 4 and 5 Star Demos of Rivers Cuomo, uploaded to riverscuomo.com in 2008. The song was presumably in contention for inclusion on a future Alone album.
On May 29, 2020, Cuomo performed the song on piano during an Island in the Zoom webinar streamed to fans. On November 22, 2020, Cuomo's acoustic cover of the song was released as part of the digital compilation Alone X: The Red-Raditude-Hurley Years. The song was removed a few days later.
Audio
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, "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 the people were singing
They went, "La, la, la"
Like my father before me, I will work the land
And 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
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, "La, la, la"
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, "La, la, la"
