the night they drove old Dixie down
Virgil Caine is my name and I served on the Danville train,
Till so much cavalry came and they tore up the tracks again
In the winter of sixty-five, we were hungry, just barely alive
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell - its a time I remember oh so well
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 'La, la, la-la, la, La, la, la-la, la-la, la-la, la'
Back with my wife in Tennesee, when one day she called to me
'Virgil, quick, come see, there goes the Robert E. Lee.'
Now I dont mind choppin wood, and I dont care if the moneys no good.
Take what you need and leave the rest,
But they should never have taken the very best.'
(Chorus)
Like my father before me, Im a working man
Like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen, proud and brave, but a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the blood below my feet
You cant raise the cane back up when its in the feed
(Chorus )