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 the tenth Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember oh so well

Chorus:

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down And 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
"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

(Chorus)

Like my father before me, I will work the land
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

(Chorus)

© Canaan Music, Inc. 1970. Performed by The Band. Written by J.R. Robertson.