The night they drove old Dixie down by

“The night they drove old Dixie down” by The Band Presented by Reid Mc. Garity

Song 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, 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 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 singing They went, “na, na"

Song lyrics continued • 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 all the people were singing They went, "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 singing They went, "Na, na"

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Repetition • The chorus repeats itself multiple times • back

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

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

Stanza • There are 7 stanzas in this song • back

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

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>.