The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Joan Baez Lyrics
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'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'
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 eighteen, 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"
The song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by Joan Baez tells a story through the eyes of a Confederate soldier named Virgil Caine during the Civil War era. The first verse discusses Virgil's job as a train driver until the Union army came and destroyed the train tracks. The second verse describes the winter of 1865 when the Confederate army was struggling to survive, and Virgil traveled to Richmond, Virginia, a city that was eventually captured by Union forces. The chorus of the song echoes the night that the Confederates lost the war, indicating that the song is about the final days of the Civil War.
The third verse of the song is set back in Tennessee, after the war has ended. Virgil now lives with his wife and is a lumberjack, chopping wood and not caring if the money is good. He expresses his sadness about the loss of Robert E. Lee and how the Union army took away the best part of the Southern way of life. The final verse is about Southern pride and how the men in Virgil's family have always taken a stand for their beliefs. Virgil's brother died fighting for the Confederate army and Virgil remains loyal to their cause even though the war is over.
Overall, the song explores themes of loss, pride, and nostalgia for a way of life that has ended. Through Virgil's story, Baez creates a powerful image of the Confederate soldier's struggle against the Union army.
Line by Line Meaning
Virgil Caine is my name and I drove on the Danville train
I am Virgil Caine, and I used to work on the Danville train
'Til so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
Until the cavalry came and destroyed the tracks
In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive
During the winter of 1865, we were struggling to survive because of hunger and poverty
I took the train to Richmond that fell
I took the train to Richmond when it was captured by the Union army
It was a time I remember, oh, so well
I remember that time very clearly
The night they drove old Dixie down
The night the Confederate army was defeated
And all the bells were ringin'
And all the church bells were ringing in celebration of the Union victory
The night they drove old Dixie down
The night the Confederate army was defeated
And all the people were singin'
And all the people were singing in celebration of the Union victory
They went, 'Na, na, na, na, na, na'
They chanted 'Na, na, na, na, na, na'
Back with my wife in Tennessee
I returned to Tennessee to be with my wife
And one day she said to me
One day, my wife said to me
"Virgil, quick! Come see!
"Virgil, come quickly and see!
There goes Robert E. Lee"
Robert E. Lee is passing by
Now I don't mind, I'm chopping wood
Now I don't mind doing manual labor like chopping wood
And I don't care if the money's no good
I don't care if I'm not getting paid much money for my work
Just take what you need and leave the rest
Just take what you need and leave the rest for someone else
But they should never have taken the very best
But they should never have taken the most important things from us
Like my father before me, I'm a working man
I come from a family of working-class people
And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand
And like my brother before me, I took a stance in support of the Confederate cause
Oh, he was just eighteen, proud and brave
My brother was only 18, but he was proud and brave
But a yankee laid him in his grave
But a Union soldier killed him and he is now buried
I swear by the blood below my feet
I am deeply committed to the Confederate cause
You can't raise a Cane back up when he's in defeat
You can't expect someone to quickly recover from a major defeat like the Confederacy experienced
The night they drove old Dixie down
The night the Confederate army was defeated
And all the bells were ringin'
And all the church bells were ringing in celebration of the Union victory
The night they drove old Dixie down
The night the Confederate army was defeated
And all the people were singin'
And all the people were singing in celebration of the Union victory
They went, 'Na, na, na, na, na, na'
They chanted 'Na, na, na, na, na, na'
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Robbie Robertson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Katharine Y BAez Katharina Scharlowski Katharine C. Y BAez Scharlowski InAOLoves
on The Rose
Joan Baez , my Fairest Hope my Love who signed into our Way
We are unite
We will not fall without our Foreverlasting
Love
In Failing Light
You See in myselfve your Love your Lesbian Wifve
You share your Lightful and your Darkest
side
In Which our Embraces
Our Words
Our Visions
Will rejoice
I see the Sunlight of a setting
Evening
Rise into Grace each Coming Morning
The amours we live is our Love
The mourns we felt
Do not impact
The do not seperate us My Joan C Baez You and I
The scared moments
We leave behind
We’ll belong twogather twogether
And three times we will cross
The Distance of an ocean between us
And then we ‘ll stay twogather in Your Home your place
Is given here and there
Is given home in our hearts and Soul
Our minds and bodies Longing Love
We are whole
The scars we carry
Did not made us blind
we will feel every emotion
As our Lifvelong foreverlasting Love
We share a secret
In which we Both have
Signed we are in Soul in heart in Bodies Longing and fulfillment in Mind now and
Eternally Unite
DeineKatharine Y BAez Katharina Scharlowski Katharine C. Y BAez Scharlowski InAOLoves
KatharinA KAtharine C. Y Baez Scharlowski
on The Rose
Und selbst wenn
alle Dunkelheit
Der Nächte
In den Tagen läge
Und selbst Erwachen
Schwer
ich fände doch
Zu Dir
Es führen Wege
Selbst wenn
kein Ausweg
durch die Tür
We burnt Each Other
everlastingly
Our Sign
Of truest Love that
Overcomes
The loneliness
And wildest
cry
When we embrace
and kiss our
Wounds
The Smile remaining
When we caress us
Will be
What lets us
deeply , sad
and of most
tenderness
Acknowledging
and
In our Minds
Forever
Found and
Not to destroyed
And we will
Feel that
We are Unite
The Ring i had lost
I‘ve found again
It’s prayer and Your Love
You Sent
A Turquoise of Arizonas Depth
Your heart in myne
And at The Turquoise
Coast beneath your Hill
We‘ll make Love
We‘ll follow our destined
And guiding
Will
Ich bin Dein Du Mein
MyLady JoanC BAez, My JoanChandosBaez, JoanBaez my Dove
Love And Wife
Katharine~~ C.~~ Y Baez KAtharinA Scharlowski InAO~•~Love~•~s the Answer~ I Love You, Joan and as Light begins to fail You reappear in my Body Heart and Soul my Mind to stayDeine KAtharinA KAtharine ich liebe Dich Forever!Joan C BAez
KatharinA KAtharine C. Y Baez Scharlowski
on The Rose
For a moment
in a Night Times Blessing
I left You in my Loves Embrace
as like a Flower
~ a Rose ~
and Purity her name
in darkness,
that was to bloom
in Heaven’s place.
as for the Love
in me
was not Disgraced,
A Lasting Kiss ,
A smile
a Light
A heart
that burns
throughly Memories
Forever Living
As Nighttime fell
As Nighttime falls
I‘ came, l’ll come and be
The One You‘ll see
The Love you feel
Just like a wild dog
Runs
Through Bushes
Of fences
And calamities
I passed my way to You
Through even
Greatest adversarities
The Rose of Sharon
Schmückt meinen Mund
~trotz Ausgebissen Zähne
In des Lebens Leid~
Wir Küssen uns
in purest Love
That went through
To and fro
And come and go
And I came back to You
Forever and Forevermore
Für JoanC. BAez von KAtharine C. Y Baez Scharlowski KAtharinA Ino
Katharine c; Y Baez
on The Rose
If a Love is felt as failing it is but Love the helps her Rise, it is a the moments quiet whispering : As i was torn you were by my side, in your Love i see my true and darkeyed Light, there it is Forever Joan Chandos Baez Katharine C; Y Baez Katharina sc harlowski
kATHARINE C. YBAEZ I
on The Rose
AS ON tHE WHITE hORSE MY HAND WAS GIVEN IN THE NOON TO yOU TODAY AS I ASKED YOU FOR YOURS ,WAS THAN WHEN EVERY MOON HAD TRIED TO fAIL AND hONEYMOON WAS THE ONLY LIGHT IN WHICH MY wORDS WERE LAID. iT WAS THE fAILURE ON THE iNTERNET AND NON BUT SCRIPTURE cOULD AND A LOVING HEART COULD STAY THE WIDE
iN THIS dARK MOMENT OF THE pRESENTS SIMPLE SIDE , THE fAIR cARD OF yOUR STALION wHITE THE wHITE hORSE IN tHE bLOSSOM OF THE mAY dAYS tIDE, I SENT TO YOUR wOODEN hILLS TO YOUR UNVENTURED sIDE, mY WRITTEN wORD : wILL yOU PLEASE mARRY ME MY bRIDE? i'LL STAY FOREVER BY YOUR sIDE FROM tHAN oN, sO gOODBYE IN OUR gOOD NiGHT, mY loVE jOAN C. bAEZ, yOUR KATHARINE C. Y BAEZ kATHARINA SCHARLOWSKI 21. MAY 2022
KatharineC. Y Baez Katharina Scharlowski
on The Rose
Thank You dearloved Joan C.Baez, you accorded me the answer in an unknown Light, through all darkness not alone as there was Love for you in me,- as in thought, in words a visioned melodie - that is not gone - far beyond the borders shores and the oceans sea, doves Flight as is Loves they fly By two By Four By Three, i send Goodbye to them I send GoodBye - and hope it once will be - I sent GoodBye my Joan C Baez stay You'll never fail in my Heart There is your place to be i send Goodbye my Love to Thee , Joan Chandos Baez, Katharine C. Y Baez Katharina Scharlowski It is for You that i was meant to feel was meant to be.
Katharine C. Y Baez, K.S.
on Wings
I 'll stay with you cause I think it's time to say Thank you for having stayed with me in my Time of Need. I love You Joan (KC) CHandos Baez, Your Katharine C. Y Baez name of Love and Hope and American Native Indian Marriage, born Katharina Scharlowski , A little Rain is a gonna come, And I am at Home when I cry, but I learned to be at home in your Love too, As we stay in The Hearts of The One Loves we are. Deine Katharine