The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
(Johnny Cash)

Virgil Caine is my name, and I served on the Danville train
Till Sherman'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
And it's a night that 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 all the people were singing

Back with my wife in Tennessee, one day she said to me
'Virgil, quick, come see, Virgil, there goes the Robert E. Lee'
Now I don't mind chopping wood, and I don't care if the money's no good
Just take what you need and leave the rest
But they never should have taken the very best

That night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing

Like my father before me, I will work the land
Like my brother above me, he took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen, proud and brave, and 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 all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing