“The night they drove old Dixie down” by The Band

1. “The night they drove old Dixie down” by The Band Presented by Reid McGarity

2. Song lyrics • Virgil Caineis the name and I served on the Danville train'TilStoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks againIn the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely aliveBy May the tenth, Richmond had fellIt's a time I remember, oh so wellThe night they drove old Dixie downAnd the bells were ringingThe night they drove old Dixie downAnd the people were singingThey went, “na, na, na"Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me"Virgil, quick, come see, there go the Robert E.Lee"Now I don't mind choppin' wood, and I don't care if the money's no goodYa take what ya need and ya leave the restBut they should never have taken the very bestThe night they drove old Dixie downAnd the bells were ringingThe night they drove old Dixie downAnd all the people were singingThey went, “na, na, na"

3. Song lyrics continued • Like my father before me, I will work the landAnd like my brother above me, who took a rebel standHe was just eighteen, proud and brave, but a Yankee laid him in his graveI swear by the mud below my feetYou can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeatThe night they drove old Dixie downAnd the bells were ringingThe night they drove old Dixie downAnd all the people were singingThey went, "Na, na, na"The night they drove old Dixie downAnd all the bells were ringingThe night they drove old Dixie downAnd the people were singingThey went, "Na, na, na"

4. Summary of song • The song is about a railroad worker named Virgil Caine who is working on the railroad during the siege of Petersburg and Richmond. • It is also about the south falling in the civil war.

5. George stoneman • General that destroyed the railroads that kept Richmond and Petersburg alive. • back

6. Meaning of Dixie • Dixie is a term referring to the south during the civil war. • Back

7. Robert E. Lee • Was the confederate general that lead the defense during the siege of Richmond and lost to the union general Ulysses S. Grant. • Back

8. Age of soldiers • To join the military you had to be 18 years old but many people around age 16 would join the military for the adventure and to fight for their own personal causes. • back

9. Yankee • Yankee was a term used to identify the northern soldiers. • Back

10. About The Band • They were formed in 1958 but originally called Ronnie Hawkins and the hawks. They went to Canada because the money was better there, while there they added three Canadians and lost 2 of the 4 original members. Eventually the lead singer Ronnie Hawkins was kicked out due to his overbearing nature and huge ego. • Back

11. Repetition • The chorus repeats itself multiple times • back

12. Rhyme scheme • The rhyme scheme in the entire song is A A b C C • Back

13. Narrative poem • The song is about the civil war and tells a story from Virgil caine’s point of view. • Back

14. Stanza • There are 7 stanzas in this song • back

15. Couplet • In every verse of the song there are two couplets, one at the beginning and one at the end. • back

16. Bibliography • Eder, Bruce. "The Band: A Brief history." Editorial. The Band. N.p., Apr. 2008.      Web. 16 May 2010. <http://theband.hiof.no/>. • Green, Jackson. "the night they drove old dixie down." elyrics.net. N.p., n.d.      Web. 16 May 2010. <http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/band-lyrics/      the-night-they-drove-old-dixie-down-lyrics.html>.