The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
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"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is a song written by Robbie Robertson and first recorded by The Band in 1969. It is interesting to note that this song about the American Civil War was written by Robertson who is a half-Mohawk Indian, half-Jewish Canadian.
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[edit] Meaning of song
The lyrics tell of Virgil Cain watching as the Union Army General George Stoneman destroys the railroad where he makes a living, and then witnessing the fall of Richmond, Virginia. Virgil relates and mourns the loss of his brother, "He was just eighteen, proud and brave / But a Yankee laid him in his grave."
The song's central lament—"You take what you need and you leave the rest / But they should never have taken the very best"—is an apparent commentary on the utter destruction of the Southern homes, cities and infrastructure that was the result of a war that lasted over four years and in which there were approximately 600,000 fatalities.
Robertson claimed that he had the music to the song in his head but had no idea what it was to be about. "At some point [the concept] blurted out to me. Then I went and I did some research and I wrote the lyrics to the song." Robertson continued, "When I first went down South, I remember that a quite common expression would be, 'Well don't worry, the South's gonna rise again.' At one point when I heard it I thought it was kind of a funny statement and then I heard it another time and I was really touched by it. I thought, 'God, because I keep hearing this, there's pain here, there is a sadness here.' In Americana land, it's a kind of a beautiful sadness."[citation needed]
[edit] Contribution of Levon Helm
Adding further resonance is the vocal delivery of the song by Arkansas-bred Levon Helm, who also provides the loping, ragged beat that suits the song's defeated yet proud theme.
Robertson noted Helm's contribution to the song by describing that in the original version of his song he had a verse about Abraham Lincoln. Helm, having been brought up in the South, advised Robertson that this would not be appropriate.
[edit] Context within the album and The Band's history
According to the liner notes to the 2000 reissue of "The Band" by Rob Bowman, the album, "The Band", has been viewed as a concept album, with the songs focusing on peoples, places and traditions associated with an older version of Americana.
Though never a major hit, "Dixie" was the centerpiece of The Band's self-titled second album, and, along with "The Weight" from Music From Big Pink, remains the song most identified with the group.
The song "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[1]
[edit] Covers of song
The song spawned a handful of cover versions, notably Joan Baez's top-10 version from 1971, as well as one by Richie Havens. Johnny Cash covered the song on his 1974 album John R. Cash. In addition, it was a live staple of Jerry Garcia's various solo configurations.
Of particular interest is the lyrics change made by Baez. She changed the words "there goes Robert E. Lee" to "there goes the Robert E. Lee," apparently changing the reference from the general to a steamboat.
In 1972, a cover of the song named "Am Tag, als Conny Kramer starb" (which translates as "On the Day Conny Kramer Died"), was a number one hit in West Germany for singer Juliane Werding. For this version, the lyrics have not been translated, but rather changed completely to an anti-drug anthem about a young man dying because of his drug addiction -- an extremely hot topic in that year, when heroin was making the first big inroads in Germany.
This song has also been covered by The Black Crowes. Live versions can be found on a few of their 2005 & 2006 Instant Live recordings, and on their video "Freak and Roll into the Fog".
Jackie Greene performed the song as an encore several times on tour in 2006, later posting it online for fans.[1]
The Allman Brothers Band have also performed the song recently, including at Bonnaroo in 2005 and at the Beacon Theater in 2007.
The Twilight Singers have performed excerpts from the song on the last leg of their 2006 tour.
Michael Vermillion, a Seattle area musician, and former member of the band Vendetta Red, recorded a version, and often performs the song at his live shows.
