1978 VERSION OF THE BAND'S "THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN"

I've enjoyed so much music through the years, but tonight while shopping for dinner I heard this on the store players.

And what's funny is that I didn't immediately recognize it, that is until I recognized Stevie Nix's voice.

But perhaps my all-time favorite song is the 1978 version of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," with Levon Helm on vocals and drums.  Maybe it's his Arkansas accents that make him and that song unforgettable. 

      
I love it.  Here are its 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 10th, Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember, oh so well

The night they drove old Dixie down when all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down, and the people were singin', they went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na."

Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me,
Said "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 all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the people were singin', they went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na."

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 when all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the people were singin', they went "Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na."

The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down, and all the people were singin', they went, "Na, na, na, la, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na."

Songwriters: Robbie Robertson

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc