Album: The Band (1969)

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• Virgil Caine is the name
  And I served on the Danville train
  'Til Stoneman's cavalry came
  And they 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
  
  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
  They went, "Na, 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
  "Say Virgil, quick, come see
  There goes the Robert E. Lee"
  Now I don't mind choppin' wood
  And I don't care if my money's no good
  You take what you need and you 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 singing
  They went, "Na, 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
  And 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 singing
  They went, "Na, 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 you could hear 'em all singing
  They went, "Na, na, na, na, na, na
  Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na" Writer/s: Robbie Robertson
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 110

• Chris Solar And Railroad Guy from MarylandMy take on the song relative to trains. The railroad that Virgil worked on was the Danville and Greensboro not the Richmond and Danville. Gen. Stoneman never tore up the tracks of the R&D. He was tearing up tracks in North Carolina in April 1865. He did tear up the tracks of the Piedmont RR which was often referred to as the Danville and Greensboro Road. The piedmont RR was completed in 1863 linking Danville VA to Greensboro NC. Interestingly in an article about the line published in 1926 states that in early October 1863 a locomotive named the Robert E. Lee made a trial run on the new tracks and that the Robert E. Lee was a locomotive that had been captured from the B&O Railroad. It is possible that the same Robert E. Lee pulled the Jefferson Davis escape train from Danville to Greensboro after Lee surrendered.
• June from Memphis, Tennessee"Should never have taken the very best" is clearly about Union stragglers taking a family's provisions -- this literally happened in that war and looting did happen: "to the victors belong the spoils of war". People inventing tales of it being about "rape" or any other moronic excessive thing they could drag into the song should look at the simplest and plainest meaning in context. And in history they DID take the very best and yes the people in the homes OFFERED it to them to avoid being killed by looters. It was in a way under a type of duress and not what they wanted to do but there was no other way so they offered it. People in a thread saying "this doesn't make sense" shows they understood zero about the war just what they got taught in a classroom - there is more to it than that. It is GOOD to get taught to hate racism and slavery -- it is important that this be taught but sometimes people miss a few other things in learning that. I'll take learning that over learning other things though.
  
  To some degree Sherman treated the looting as part of a scorched earth policy but some Union officers were appalled at stories of looting by their troops and one article from the 1860s mentioned a Union general who reportedly approved that a looter had been shot on the property by a Southerner who was subjected to forced entry of his home. This situation is well known and that much Robertson could easily have learned from Helm who was from a town less than a hundred miles from Memphis - cotton and rice country.
  
  And "THERE GOES THE ROBERT E. LEE" was clearly sung by both Helm and Baez -- speaking AFTER the war - "back with my wife in Tennessee" -- that's after the war, sounds like extreme west TN, and Helm was from the other side of the riverbank in Arkansas. The Robert E Lee did go up that river past Memphis for decades.
  
  Some of the comments I found in here were missing "the boat" so to speak. I also found a reddit page where a numbskull literalist thought Helm and Robertson were literally trying to make a song supporting the "Lost Cause" of slavery when it is a song about a memory of defeat but not about praising the confederacy. It was not a historical work but a work of fiction and of feeling, and there are many memories to be documented, NOT just one. We all know the one about the disgusting institution of slavery. There was more going on in that war than that including thousands who were poor and fought but had never owned slaves because they had no money to begin with but were conned into fighting for state's rights by the politicians who were landowners and who had an agenda. It is so horrible to see how we have lost music / lit appreciation. Everything is not intended as teaching a history lesson of fact - some things are about a momentary feeling but not intended to get you to support the South "winning the war," which is not the point and would have been a bad thing - slavery needed to end.
• George from Vancouver BcLincoln wasn't morally opposed to slavery -- he had his own house slaves. His was a political move -- to be head of a new party & to lead a military victory -- that was the wet dream of all leaders in those days, & to a certain extent into modern times. Lincoln was an opportunist--some might say, then, a true Republican and American.
• David from Yorkshire Uk‘There goes the Robert E Lee’ can not refer to the famous steam boat as it wasn’t launched until 1866. It refers to the General who came through the farm land requisitioning land to feed his hungry troops. ‘They should never have taken the very best’!
  I always wondered as others have said how Joan Baez recoded this song which appears to support the Confederate cause and therefore endorse slavery. I now see it as anti war, despising the waste and loss of life, with its clever reflection in two Biblical brothers Able, who killed his own brother Cain.
• Curtis Loew from Cibolo, TxThe Winter Of 65 Was 22 Dec 1864 to 22 Mar 1865. "By May The 10th Richmond Had Fell" should read "By April 10th"...as Richmond Fell On 3 April 1865.
• Jackl from The SouthI feel like the second verse is pretty clear--Robert E Lee came through with his army, requisitioned the best he had, and paid for it in confederate script. It feels like a lot of people interpret this as somehow referring to the Union Army, or a steamboat, but I don't see the connection? You don't ask an enemy army to take what they need and leave the rest, you'd ask your own.
• Jeff from Long Beach, Ca"Taken the very best" might refer to raping of their women
• Dawn from SomdI always interpreted the line, "They should never have taken the very best" as referring to his (Virgil's) brother, and all others who died. "The very best" are the people who were killed.
  
  "You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat" - means he wouldn't come back if he has to come back a beaten man ("in defeat"). He would fight and die again.
• Tyrone From Barbados from BarbadosIbrahim from Indonesia Indonesia has had millions of slaves for thousands of years, and has genocided millions of people many times. Maybe look at how bad your country is. Indonesia, the land of slaves and genocides and evil.
• Steve C from Blue Bell, Pa"You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat" is a form of synecdoche, using the name of one family (the Caines) to refer to the broader futility of the "Reconstruction," which was punishment meted out to white Southerners in the name of rebuilding. At least, that's how white Southerners might have seen it, and, to a good extent, that's how it was intended... which you see when you read the things that hardline Radical Republicans said and wrote.
  
  Of course, this line also casts the Civil War as a struggle between Cain and Abel, and then there's a kind of oblique duple entendre (i.e., raising Cain). But the core of this quote is this reference to Reconstruction, something which, incredibly, all critics seem to miss. The whole song, on some level, refers to the plight of the little man caught up in the late stages of the war (e.g., Stoneman's cavalry tearing up the tracks of the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad) and facing the indignities of Reconstruction (e.g., chopping wood even if the money's no good.... ironically, a sharecropper's job).
• Albert from ChicagoRolling Stone (6 August 2020) reviewed a revision of the 1968 lyrics.
  The composer’s rewriting, and the positive Rolling Stone review, is an example of how and artist's good intentions can damage the nation's historical memory.
  
  In the composer/singer's 1968 lyrics he recounts the lived experience of a poor farmer in the South at the end of the Civil War. There is nothing racist about them--the farmer simply recounting his family's experience as General Sherman went on a criminal campaign in the South as the war was closing---indiscriminate brutality, looting, and killing of the White population as a collective punishment. There is no pro-Confederate sentiment. It just says the war ended and this is what happened to my family.
  
  In this Rolling Stone interview, the composer says that he believed that it was a good thing that Sherman "burned Alabama to the ground" and implies that he should have included this in his1968 lyrics. So he updated them to say the Southerners got what they deserved.
  
  In 1968 it was an anti-war song about how wars always do so much evil to everyday people.
  In 2022 is a pro-war song---everyday people in evil nations get what they deserve.
  The rewrite is unfortunate because it aggravates the current American political crisis. It also justifies American military aggression abroad: people who live in "evil" nations get what they deserve.
• Carlin from ArkansasI believe Levon wrote most and was suckered out of most credits of the band music.
• Wayne Fleming from QldHi,
  I agree with the other Aussie, Rob. I seems inconceivable that Joan Baez would record a song that glorifies the fight to defend slavery and makes the South look like the victims instead of the aggressors. gobsmacked.
• Peter Kauffner from Washington StateThe song is set in the "winter of '65." This is a few months after the war ended.
• Stephen from AustraliaThe correct lyric is "there goes the Robert E Lee". It is a reference to the steamship named after Robert E Lee, not the man himself.
• Tim from OregonConsider the reality for most whites in the south, which is what this song represents.
  
  At the beginning of the Civil War, there were six million white people living in the south. Out of these only 350,000 actually owned slaves. Many of these were upper middle class that would have 1 to 3 slaves as domestic servants. A very small percentage owned 20 or more slaves to maintain their large land holdings. These wealthy land owners were the ones that controlled the politics of the south and pushed to maintain their system of living against the north. The majority of the white people in the south were recent immigrants that ranged from yeoman farmers that owned a small farm which they tended themselves down to illiterate sharecroppers that tried to eek out a living to keep their family alive. These people were also the ones that shed the most blood for the south in the war. They were young, given a uniform and a gun, and on most days food. They believed they were fighting for the honor of the south, the most responsibility they ever had. So when you hear this song it’s about the struggle of man to get by after finding he’s lost everything, including his brother, when he never had much to begin with.
• Rob from Australia To Scotty who asks “ Did anyone ever ask Baez why she recorded this song? (other than just to make money). It's just that it seems to go against much of what she stood for during the 1960s.”
  
  This song in the context of the late 60’s/early 70’s was understood by those of us in our youth during that period as an anti-war song. Rather than referencing Vietnam directly it does so indirectly via parallels with the civil war. The message being those who suffer terribly in wars generally are the common people, not those responsible for starting them.
  
  As an anti-war song, and one which despite its reinterpretion in the modern era has nothing to do with racism, it was totally consistent with the progressive messages Joan was delivering at that time.
• Ibrahim from IndonesiaPossibly Diane is correct, there may have been some happy slaves - and some who were loyal to their masters (although they were never given the chance or choice to experience anything else).
  
  However, none of this mitigates the fundemental ungodly sin: the assumption of 'ownership'. Slaves were traded like commodities; family members literally 'sold down river'; corporal and capital punishment administered by the 'owners'; prohibited from socialising and not allowed education.
  
  To gloss over this by saying 'they were happy' is unspeakably arrogant.
  
  Of course, the North don't get a free pass in this terrible time in history. After the civil war, Union cavalry were committed to the new territories to rid the land of the native American occupants, often by extermination. It stands as an example of ethnic cleansing akin to the holocaust.
  
  America, the land of the free and the brave.
• DanJerry Garcia Band kills it.
• Stronzyk from MaineAll the bells were ringin', all the people were singin'. Sounds like a joyful celebration. Why would people having sons and brothers and fathes killed, seeing their property burned, going down to a bitter defeat be be singing La LaLa La La La La La La and ringing bells?
• Shannon Slayter from Oklahoma CityI understand that Robbie Robertson penned the lyrics these iconic roots music songs.. Levon Helm gave the songs authenticity. My family received a royal charter from George III, king of England to settle and farm 4,000 acres of North Carolina, his sons were first landowners to revolt in 1760. Broke after civil war. My grandmother walked with Dr. King. Leven Helm seared all the turmoil and triumphs of generations of southern families
• Kevin from SacramentoThe War wasn’t fought over slavery, at least at first, but the question of slavery was central to the war. Just read the declarations by the seceding states: slavery is front and center. The South wanted to expand slavery to the territories in order to protect the practice from the increasingly abolitionist North. They threatened to leave the Union if Lincoln, as the leader of the new (to varying degrees abolitionist) Republican Party, was elected. They followed through on the threat when he was. The North, taking the position that the Union was perpetual and could not be left unilaterally, took up arms to force the South back into the United States. In other words, the North was fighting to preserve the Union. It was only later that Lincoln, who always opposed slavery on moral and practical grounds (that whole “house divided cannot stand” thing), saw an opportunity to end the country’s “original sin” and rammed through the 13th Amendment. That’s basically it. The North isn’t absolved of the sin. It might not have had slaves, but it made a fortune of the Southern cotton they picked. There was a lot of sympathy for the South among the Northern commercial interests and around the world
• Karl from PennsylvaniaAllan from Maryland: I believe that "And I don't care if the money's no good" refers first to the worthless (in 1863-1865) Confederate States Dollar. I believe that "You take what you need - And you leave the rest - But they should never - Have taken the very best" refers to the Carpetbaggers during the reconstruction period.
• Malcolm Tyler from Melbourne, AustraliaI totally concur with Scotty for Wyoming. Joan Baez, it seems, is nothing but fool. She has said in an interview that she liked the tune. Well, she should have paid more attention to the lyrics. She now seems two-faced as the picture of her holding the arm of Rev.Dr. Martin Luther King during protest march several years before the release of the song.
• Meryl from Western North CarolinaThanks, Greg for a wonderful historic breakdown of this song! I wrote my Master’s thesis (for a Social Studies Education certification) on this song, and researched forever the Robert E Lee appearance, never dreaming that it was the steamboat!
• Mujibar Kayabab from In Bed W/future Ex WifeAmazing how a Canadian songwriter captured American history of the Civil War era from a Southerner's perspective with such (mostly accurate) detail.... more memorable and historically significant than any American songwriter ever had, as indicated right here in this awkwardly long, run-on sentence about The Night They Drove Ol Dixie Down.
  
• Arthur from UkStop moaning, working in a cotton field was tough for slaves, working in a coal mine in England was a harder life. Miners had no rights at all.
• Jim From TennesseeDiane from Needham AL is a fool if she thinks she knows all there is to know about the Civil War, Slavery and everything else about Southern life. And her comment "without the slaves we could not have tended our fields", really? You sound like you want our sympathy because you owned so much property and couldn't take care of it...give me a break you self righteous, poor little me pond scum. Annie from NY, tell it like it is...
• Allan from MarylandWhat does the song mean “Ya take what ya need and leave the rest, but they should never have taken the very best”?
• Annie from New YorkI can't believe that there are people like Diane who still believe in the myth of the 'happy slave' and boasting about how both of her grandfathers owned slaves. Do you really think that your slaves were happy toiling away for hours in your grandfathers fields for no pay? Do you think that they were happy when their family members were sold away from them? How about when the men in your family came to the slave cabins at night to 'enjoy' the slave women? You took away their real names so they 'adopted' yours- it wasn't out of love. They stayed on after the Civil War because they had no place to go, not because they loved you so much.
  And that great man Jefferson raped his wife's half sister. Do you think that Sally Hemmings was so in love with Jefferson that she was in a relationship with him willingly? He owned her. I suggest that you look at the other side of the equation, especially at narratives from former slaves to learn about the cruelty from slave masters and all the injustices that the slaves faced (maybe even from your grandfathers). You probably won't because if you knew the real truth, it would break your heart.
  
  Oh and this song is terrific.
• Scotty from Cheyenne, WyDid anyone ever ask Baez why she recorded this song? (other than just to make money). It's just that it seems to go against much of what she stood for during the 1960s.
• Michael from LynehamAwesome song, so evocative. Folks denying slavery as the cause of the war need to check South Carolina's 'Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union', the first such
  
  It declares the reason as '... increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the Institution of Slavery.'
  
  The movie Cold Mountain, despite flaws, also shines a light on this period and what it was like for ordinary people
• Mark Hoffmann from Oakland CaRobbie wrote the music, but Levon wrote the lyrics (uncredited). He was from Arkansas and had to take Robbie to the local library to educate him on the Civil War, and Levon was responsible for the historical accuracy of the lyrics. This song is probably the best Americana song ever written, and by a mostly Canadian member band. The final performance ever of this song from "The Last Waltz" is stunning. Levon's vocals bring a tear to your eye with the evocation of the suffering of people during that deadly, sad time of our history.
• Greg from Tidewater VirginiaThis is truly a great song. I remember listening to my brother's albums as a kid. The Band captured the futile thirst for revenge and the uncertain fate of half a continent at a time when the world of the South was collapsing all around it's inhabitants. It is also an emotional account of one man shaking his fist at powers beyond his control, an unwilling witness to history crashing down around him. I have been listening to this song for many years and find myself driven to research the specific verses that relate to real events during the war. The following discussion is provided for your reading entertainment. Please feel free to add any information that might further augment the following or shine further light on this small piece of history.
  
  There are three references to specific Civil War events that I address:
  
  First Reference: "...and I worked on the Danville train, till Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again"
  
  Virgil Caine worked on the "Danville train", which is certainly the Richmond and Danville (R&D) railroad, which ran from Danville, Virginia to Richmond, Virginia (140 miles) before, during and after the Civil War. (In the years following the Civil War, it grew to include 3300 miles of track.) Virgil's comment places him somewhere between these two cities (Danville and Richmond) in Virginia. Having solved the question of where, we address the question of when.
  To ascertain the time, we can refer to U.S. General George Stoneman's cavalry raid on April 4th, 1865. The Yankee cavalry cut the R&D railroad at Jetersville, Virginia, thereby robbing Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia of the crucial supplies they awaited in Amelia. This was the only instance during the entire war that the R&D was cut, which pinpoints Virgil Caine living somewhere along the R&D line in the early days of April 1865. (NOTE 1: Virgil says they "tore up the tracks AGAIN", but there is no reference to the R&D being cut before April 1865. NOTE 2: Gen'l Stoneman led cavalry raids in 1863 and 1864 in Virginia, but neither of these raids approached the R&D line.)
  
  Second Reference: "By May the 10th Richmond had fell..."
  
  This reference is a bit obscure, as has been noted in the Comments. True enough, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured May 10th 1865 in Irwin County, Georgia. This event marked the fall of the Confederate national government's existence. However, technically, Richmond had fallen on Monday, April 3, the day after Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia abandoned their lines around Petersburg, Virginia, and headed west in full retreat. Union forces entered Richmond, some 45 odd miles northeast of Petersburg, at dawn on April 3, and President Abraham Lincoln walked the streets of Richmond with his son Tad on the fourth of April. These facts throw light on the verse from the song, and perhaps the verse should have read, "...by April third Richmond had fell".
  
  Third Reference: "Virgil quick come see, there goes Robert E. Lee"
  
  Robert E. Lee spent his entire military career as commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, and was never in Tennessee during the entire civil war. Research shows that this verse must certainly refer to the Mississippi steamboat "Robert E. Lee", which operated mainly between Natchez, Missouri, and New Orleans. This operational route did not include that stretch of the Mississippi River which borders western Tennessee, but the "Robert E. Lee" was known to venture as far north as St. Louis when revenue fell short on the Natchez-New Orleans run. While the previous two references indicate Virgil living along the R&D line in April 1865, there is no historical time reference by which to place the "Robert E. Lee" on the western Tennessee border where Ole' Miss flows. In 1870, the "Robert E. Lee" raced the "Natchez" (another steamboat) from New Orleans to St. Louis. (The "Robert E. Lee" won the contest.) This race would have taken the Robert E. Lee along the Mississippi on the western border of Tennessee, where Virgil's wife might have seen the steamboat. Virgil tells the story of his involvement in the Civil War in the first two references, and then quips "back with my wife in Tennessee", obviously following the events described earlier in the song. The logical conclusion is that Virgil's wife saw the "Robert E. Lee" sometime between April 1865 and 1870.
  
  Enough of history! Enjoy the song.
• Jason from North CarolinaI almost forgot to add that States Rights had a part in it too. Slavery did play a minor part in the heightened tensions leading up to the war, but it was not as major as people like to make it seem. This is where people try to say where slavery plays a huge role, where it doesn't. Before the war the North needed the South for its agriculture and the South needed the North for its Industry. The only time the northerners, or the abolitionists rather, really took any real action against slavery itself was when it was no longer helping/benefiting them I.e. through material goods going north or for the revenue made through tarriffs. Which all the revenue was spend only in the north at that time on expanding railroads and industry, another reason southerners were agitated. Before anyone says I am trying to defend the institution of slavery, I will say it myself that slavery is horrible and no human should have the right to own another. The only point I'm trying to get at is that the north only had their best interests in mind and that the victors write the history.
• Jason from North CarolinaI would like to note that this song is written in the perspective of a Southerner in the later years of the American Civil War. Now, as to why everyone always has to politicize everything, I do not know. However, if people would like to get Historical about the subject we may do that. Everyone always claims that the main reason the war happened was over slavery, however that cannot be true due to the fact that less than 20% of white southern families owned slaves in 1860. Also, may I add the fact that Lincoln offered the southern states (states in rebellion) that if they rejoined the Union by January 1st, 1863 they would be able to keep their slaves. That was the stipulation of the Emancipation Proclamation. Another thing I would like to point out is that the only reason Lincoln wanted to sign the Emancipation Proclamation was so England would no long support the Confederate Government and so he could get free African Americans to join the Union army and help the Union. I think Lincoln explained himself very clearly with this quote: "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union..." Now as the real reason the war started in the first place is because Lincoln decided to send troops and supplies to Fort Sumter, which was IN SOUTHERN WATERS. Another big reason was because of sectionalism that had been brewing for decades prior to the war. In my opinion the straw that broke the camels back was Tarriffs (which is the reason SC almost seceded under the presidency of Andrew Jackson) and the fact that Lincoln won without a single southern electoral vote which made southerners feel like they were unrepresented.
• David from MichiganAnd PLEASE...notice the word slavery (or any reference to RACE, for that matter) are found nowhere in the song.
• David from MichiganI can't believe you all are making this song about racism and politics! Regardless of topic of the song, it was written by a freaking Canadian for crying out loud. He didn't even HAVE a dog in the fight. It's a POEM for crying out loud. It's showing that right or wrong, there's two sides to every story. Virgil Caine (albeit a fictions character) like MOST southerners at the time, probably never owned a slave in his life! Like MOST southerners, just like most GERMANS during WWII, had no say in whether or not he agreed with the "cause". They were conscripted to fight regardless and we're powerless against a more powerful government. It doesn't mean the southerners deserved the hardships and mistreatment they received at the hands of the union. Just like union soldiers (or slaves) didn't deserve the hardships and mistreatment they received at the hands of (SOME) southerners. It's just a STORY showing a counter perspective. Get a grip, for crying out loud.
• Lori from FloridaNo, no you've got it all wrong! Google Eustice Mullins and the civil war. Get an education.
  Very interesting! Enjoy
• Oldgoldtop from BostonI know Robertson has said he was writing about the American Civil War but I have always considered it very much a sad anti war song and relevant to or even inspired by the pain and suffering caused by war and especially the destructive division our nation experienced during the Vietnam War era. It is too often easy to be led into war only to learn later of the harsh and punishing realities.
• W from Hollywood, Vatican CityEasily one of the all-time greatest ballads ever composed, even though it was originally a funeral dirge for the defeated South until the Baez version made it actually more musical. It has a Gone With the Wind-type of loss and disillusionment to it. This should have made it into the PBS series 'The Civil War' especially the part about the Petersburg seige.
• Kevin from Sacramento, CaJust a comment about the reference to Richmond falling by May 10. As others have pointed out, that's the date of Confederate President Jefferson Davis' capture. I've always thought the reference to "Richmond" in this context was to the rebel government, not the city proper. Just as we refer to "Washington" today.
• J from Athens, AlGreat tune, great writer, great "Band" performing it. I seriously doubt Diane is from Alabama. More likely a troll from the othersphere, manipulating the willing.....
• Mark from Whitman, MaI'm sure it must have been suggested before, but I wonder if the song writer choose Virgil's last name as "Caine" to be a bit of a play on words in regards to "Cain and Abel" of the Bible? The symbolic "brother vs brother" of the Civil War can be seen in the story of Cain and Abel. The brother who started the family conflict (Cain and Caine of the South) became cursed/defeated by God for killing his brother (slaves or northerns?), but his punishment for "killing his brother/starting the war" is to toil in the field, to wander - to be banished (and as Cain was "defeated/punished" by God, so the old South will not rise again because of its sins) "you can't raise the Caine back up when it's in defeat". Very symbolic.
  
  "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"
• Deborah from Manvel, TxAnd furthermore Diane, your argument: "without our slaves we could not tend our fields" would be downright silly except that it's such an awful statement of what horrible things you and your ilk would be capable of if you were ever again in a position of power.
• Deborah from Manvel, TxTo Diane in Alabama: It's amazing how your misspelling spoke the TRUTH you so dearly love about how the "Union took away our lively hoods." You probably THOUGHT you were writing about livelihoods, or jobs, but subconsciously you were probably referring to the lively little white hoods that your forebears wore when they were out wishing well to the black folks who better NOT leave the plantation if they valued their lives. Please try, with a straight face, to explain to a black person what a great life slavery was and how they'd be lucky to be living that life right now.
• Camille from Toronto, OhYou can feel the pain, loss and defeat in Levon Helm's voice as he sings this song. Very moving. It's unusual subject matter for a 'rock band' to sing about; I think that's one reason it's so memorable. It surprises me how many have posted some passionate opinions here of their interpretation of the song. I agree, the drums add so much to the feel of the soldier limping along to a type of military march. When Helm's sings about "they never should have taken the very best", I think it means that along with all the material goods, they took the heart and soul from the Confederates.
• Jerry from New York, NyGosh, Diane from Alabama makes a good argument for slavery TODAY even. Diane, I am really, really rich up here on Wall Street and I'm wondering if you and your entire family would like to come up here and let me OWN you. I promise I'll be nice and only have sex with the pretty girls to make more humans to mow my lawn and stuff. You'll be like my family. But you'll live in separate quarters and I'll treat you like dogs. Up here in New York we pick up our dog's poop after it comes out of their butts: that's how much we love them! I thought your argument about Thomas Jefferson was brilliant. He was just like that Bernie Madoff guy. All those people WANTED to give Bernie their money and he bought yachts and stuff and that must have helped the economy. Seriously, I'm so impressed with you, Diane. Could you clean my toilets? Would you be my slave? Can I just take possession of your entire being and literally own all--what do you weigh, 250?--of you. I think your family would be a lot better off if a really rich man owned them. I would even teach you to read and I wouldn't trade you for "nouthing."
• Ken from Philadelphia, PaTwo points must be made:
  
  First, as others have pointed out Stoneman was a Union Cavalry commander who raided into South Central Virginia (from Eastern Tennesee) in the winter of 1865 for the specific purpose of cutting the Danville rail connection to Richmond. At this time, Robert E. Lee and the remnants of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had been under seige in front of Richmond and Petersburg since the summer of 1864 and the Danville line was one of the few remaining connections between Richmond and the rest of the Confederacy. Stoneman's raid was one of (several) final hammer blows that forced Lee to abandon Richmond in the Spring of 1865 and, in a matter of days, surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.
  
  As for the larger question regarding the cause of the American Civil War, do not kid yourselves. THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR WAS FOUGHT OVER SLAVERY! All of the other issues raised by Southerners, back then and today, eventually point back to concerns that the more populated northern states would eventually gain the political power and the political will to force rich Southerners to give up their slaves. To be sure, the average Southerner, who was neither rich nor a slave owner, didn't fight so that a couple of rich landowners could keep their "property". This is where the issues of States' rights and freedom and inequity and the like come into play. They needed to motivate the troops somehow, and, of course, in the years after the war, when it became increasingly apparent just how wrong and horrific human slavery really was, those convenient motivational tools also became a convenient means to create the mythology of the noble "Lost Cause", etc., etc., etc. Southerners lost the war, but they won the public relations campaign that followed over the next 150 years (and counting.
• Jim from Woodland Park, NjIn the Last Waltz, Robertson states that he was inspired to write the song after a late night conversation with Levon Helms' Father, who told him at one point "You know, one of these days the South is gonna rise again."
• Alberto from Roma, ItalyHistory: according to Maldwyn Jones' History of the U.S. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limits_of_Liberty:_American_History_1607-1980), the main motivation of the Civil War was economical and regarded the expansion of slavery into western territories. In that time many US citizens were moving west and creating "western territories"; each of them could officially become a new States as its population grew big enough. Allowing slavery into those new states would have meant a great advantage for the economy of southern states while of course not allowing it would have meant the opposite. Northern states' citizens and politicians had more power and influence in the Federal State than Southerners and this is the reason why things went the way they went. These are not my opinions but the competent english historian Maldwyn Jones'. It is a great book and I suggest its reading. Now, MY opinion: both Northeners and Southerners were racist (this is proved by the fact that those former slaves who moved to the North were immediately segregated). Someone wrote here that many slaves suffered more after the abolition of slavey than before it. It is perfectly true, but why is it true? Because they were set to freedom for the wrong reasons (economical) and in the wrong way (by war, all of a sudden and without the surrounding society's inner consent). This fact should remind those who are now "bringing Democracy" around the World with their weapons that they should be ashamed of what they've done and of what they're still doing. About the song: good melody, good rhythm, good performance, but the lyrics are so nationlly self-centered - it looks like thay have been written by someone who can only think in terms of "we" ("me vs. you", americans, southerners vs. northerners) and forgets about the "other", millions of africans without a name, a date of birth, a personal identity and dignity. To the proud "rebels" who wrote in this page: go, get an education, then (and only then) tell your opinon to the world. The northeners were just as racist as you were, but that doesn't make the "rebels" of the Civil War any better on that matter. No doubt that all this people had good qualities as well, bravery, dignity etc.; humans are full of contradictions and we all know it. Just don't be nostalgic about people who treated other humans as animals, please.
  
  
  
  
• John from Bemidji, MnI just heard a great cover, by Ritchie Havens, recorded live. I've always liked Ritchie's work, but he sings this song with such sensitivity, and his version is so powerful by the irony of his being a black man singing a song that is clearly about a confederate. I think its my favorite cover, but I've never heard Johnny Cash's cover. There's a version of Ritchie Havens' cover on youtube with photos from the war. BTW, to correct my earlier post, it is only a myth that Jeff Davis was captured dressed as a woman.
• Jim from St. Paul, MnBeautiful song... I do think Joan Baez's version sounds even more heart felt, but all the gratitude to Robbie Robertson for composing this terrific ballad. No one is making any comments about the last verse, "He was just 18, proud and brave; But a Yankee laid him in his grave; I swear by the mud below my feet; You can't raise a Kane back up when he's in defeat." I can't piece that together because it sounds as though Virgil is making a pledge on his brother's grave, but what pledge? The "when he's in defeat line" kind of throws me. ............. Anyway, as supplement to this song, the only other modern day civil war song I can greatly appreciate that rivals this song for feeling and sadness is Gene Pitney's "I'm Afraid to Go Home" but recorded and sung by Brian Hyland. Absolutely beautiful and moving! Hope you agree if you ever get a chance to hear the studio version.
  
  
• John from Bemidji, MnAnd as an aside, not to further a controversy, but something that I feel needs responding to, the entire issue of "States Rights" referred to property rights. And that property was...slaves. It is disingenous to say slavery was not the fundamental cause of the civil war. The issue of slavery (and the desire of some to hold human beings as chattel) was the cancer that had been eating away at the country since the Revolution, with various compromises made to appease the Southern states where slavery had become economically important since the invention of the cotton gin. The recent prelude to the Civil War (Missouri compromise, the Border State Wars. "Bleeding Kansas") amptly demonstrates that the perpetuation of slavery was the driving cause behind seucession, at least on the Southern side. It is true that in the North, the war was initially framed in preserving the Union, but it is clear that Lincoln was elected on an abolitionist platform. While not condemning the thousands upon thousands of brave Confederate soldiers (who, in reality fought for their homelands, not for the slave holders who led their states), their cause was corrupt and evil.
• John from Bemidji, MnThis song is one of my favorites. I believe, however, that it refers (quite accurately) to the fall of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia which occurred in April of 1865. From the early summer of 1864 into the spring of 1865, the entire state of Virgina was the scene of some of the heaviest and bloodiest fighting in the whole war. The object of the Union commander, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, was to surround and capture the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond. Richmond, however, was heavily and effectively fortified. Its southern defenses were around the town of Petersburg, Va., and the various railroads (including the Danville line) were what supplied Richmond with food, arms and reinforcements. Grant realized that a direct attack and siege of Richmond would be too costly and uncertain; he chose to establish a seige of Petersburg, beginning around June of 1864. Danville is just south of Petersburg and was primarily a rail town. The seige was stalmated until April 1, when Union cavalry and troops turned the south west flank of the Petersburg defenders at the Battle of Five Forks. Grant, realizing that the endurance of teh Petersburg defenders was stretched beyond endurance, cancelled all passes for the Army of the Potomac and ordered a general attack through the trenches and defensed of Petersburg. The attack succeeded and Union troops were in the city on April 2. Meanwhile, in Richmond, panic set in and the Confederate hierarchy, inculding President Jefferson Davis, along with the remanants of the rebel army, fled the city on April 2-3, first putting munitons factories and parts of the torch. Robert E Lee, the Confederate commander, fled with his Army of Virginia northwest. Union troops immediately entered Richmond and President Abraham Lincoln entered and toured Richmond on April 4. Lee's Army of Virginia was soon halted near Appomattox Courthouse, and he surrendered on April 9. In early May, Jefferson Davis was captured, despite the fact that he was dressed as a woman. Grant had indeed "drove Ole Dixie down." Cavalry from both sides routinely ripped up rail tracks; the Union cavalry was noted for heaping the iron rails on top of bonfires to warp and twist the rails and make what the Confederates referred to as "Lincoln's (or Sherman's) neckties." Robbie Robertson must have had a comprehensive grasp of the American Civil War, and may have been a "Civil War boor" himself!
• Don from B G, KyLevon Helm sings "Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me,"
  "Virgil, quick, come see, there goes THE Robert E. Lee!" I think it is after the war is over and he sees the RIVERBOAT called THE Robert E Lee. Riverboats used wood to fire the steamboilers, perhaps he was struggleing to survive by selling wood to the Riverboats and he is remembering the looting that both armies did during the war.
• Martin from Toronto, OnIt is my understanding that the vocal back-up to Levon Helm on this song is by the late Rick Danko and the late Richard Manuel.Though it appears that Robbie Robertson is also singing, apparently his vocal microphone was not turned on, for some reason.
  I believe I heard this during an interviev with Martin Scorcese.
• Colin from Johannesburg, South Africa"The Night they drove old Dixie down" - does this not refer to Sherman's scorched earth policy and specifically the burning of Atlanta? Just a thought from Africa.
  Still one of the most emotive of songs
• Christy from Morristown, TnI am from the south, so this song is a reference to my history. Without a doubt, this song would not have the impact that it does on the listener, if it were not for the vocal delivery of Levon Helm. This song puts chills up and down my spine!
• Mike from Matawan, NjRobert from Arlington, VA? You've just about nailed it. The Southerners Cause was correct (States Rights), but the rallying point (slavery) was AWFUL. I am definitely opposed to a centralized government telling me and my state how I should live and what I can be taxed on. Our recent Health Care Bill is a perfect example. Why not leave it up to the individual states to provide healthcare to their citizens? Or not as the case may be?
  
  And Diane? What do you mean most of the Yanks can't speak the truth? Have you been smoking Spanish Moss again? The reason most of the slaves stayed put is...where else would they go? They HAD no other place to go. No education. NOTHING.
  
  Back to the song....GREAT song. Best version is on "The Last Waltz" as has been pointed out.
• Charlie from Liverpool, United Kingdom (The Brit's must have really enjoyed watching our "family feud.")
  
  i think you'll find that the confederate army had the backing of all the cotton barons in the north west of england,im from liverpool and no that during your civil war my city gave much backing to the south ranging from weapons money food and we also built the css alabama and most of the crew were from liverpool,we also have what i believe to be the only confederate embassy outside the usa which is still standing
• Robert from Arlington, VaI am a huge fan of The Band and this is my favorite song of theirs. I was born in Detroit in '71 but have lived in Northern Virginia since '74. I like to tell people I'm a Yankee by the grace of God, and Southern due to "time served". Virginia is a very interesting state in many ways. Now that tobacco is starting to fade a bit as a cash crop, the financial power in the state is clearly in Northern VA, while because our capital is still Richmond, the political power is in Southern VA. And this is a very good thing for Virginia. It insures that more of the states' population is served financially and politically. My wife is from Buffalo, NY. Whenever we visit her family, they always remark at our license plates and say, "The Rebels are here! The Rebels are here!" By comparison, we have friends in NC whom when we visit say, "Well, I believe this is a fine Southern day until our Yankee friends came a-callin'!" Nevermind that I've spent nearly 34 years in Robert E. Lee's home state. On the subject of the Civil War, or "The Late Unpleasantness" as we prefer to call it in Dixie, let's be clear as to its cause. The cause was NOT the North trying to abolish slavery. The cause was about STATE'S RIGHTS. Up until the Civil War, individual states could largely govern themselves as they saw fit without interference from the Federal government. The country was less than 100 years old at this time and we were still figuring out how much power to "give" to centralized government. Lincoln's government decided that slavery was going to be the point at which the Federals would attempt to limit or restrict how an individual state could decide for itself what was best. Our fear in the South was, "Ok, you're here for our slaves today...what're you coming for tomorrow?" You may now consider yourself properly educated on the Civil War. Of course, that's just my opinion...I could be wrong.
• Clint from Lower 48, CtRobert E Lee was AGAINST Slavery and believed in the Union. He was just too loyal to his home state.
• Barry from New York, NcThis song was recorded at Sammy Davis Jr. House, Los Angeles April/ May 1969
• Diane from Needham, Al I read All the comments It is nice that some people ( REBELS) out there can speek the TRUTH .... To bad the Yanks can't .. The Civil War WAS NOT ABOUT SLAVERY ! ! It was about the Union coming down here and taking away our lively hood ... Without the slaves we could not tend our feilds ... BOTH of my Grandfathers owned slaves ... And when the war was over Almost ALL of them stayed and farmed the land with my grandfathers ... and each slaves family was given 10 acres ... many of them LOVED us so much that they took our family name ... I GET REALLY SICK OF HEARING ABOUT HOW MISTREATED THE SLAVES WERE ! ! Yes there were those who were treated in horrible ways and that I believe 100% that it was wrong .. but there were also those who were treated as family and loved .... Thomas Jefferson had over 100 slaves ... If you will research him you will see that he cherised them and never refered to the as slaves . He called them his family . He did not believe in slavery but yet he owned them .... Why ??? While he was in office as Presidient of these GREAT states he recieved a letter from a southern gentleman that wanted to release his slaves so that he could go to France ... Thomas wrote him back and told him not to set them free because there were no laws yet set up in the new goverment to protect them and until such a time they should be taken care of thier owners .... The man did not lisen and reliesed them and they suffered at the hands of a cruel owner ... Thomas educated his slaves and was ridiculed by his NORTHERN friends , His life long companion was a slave that was born the same day as he was and who was at Jefferson's side on July 4th when he passed away ... History is written by those who WIN the war ... so since the North won how much of History is distorted and WRONG ???? The Rebels were out numbered 4 to 1 and it took the Yanks 4 years to defeat us .... And just so you ALL know I am Happily married to a Yankie ... 20 years now and I would trade him for nouthing ... We do not discuse the Civil War because we still after all this time do not agree on the real reason the war ever happened .... Every Memorial Day my ENTIRE family ( from all over the USA ) return home to ALABAMA to go to the graveyard and visit 4 cousin and 2 grandfathers that died or served in the civil war ... Men we have never met yet Men we ALL LOVE ....
• Thomas from Friars Point, MsLevon is from Helena, Arkansas. The "sister" city of my hometown of Friars Point, Mississippi. Two cities just across the Mississippi from one another. He grew up a river rat just like me. The Robert E. Lee refrenced in the song is a steamboat. The person was never in Tennesse during the war or after. How do I know this? General Lee was once asked which general that served under him during the war did he think was the best. His answer, "A man I have never met." General Forrest. Forrest served in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. Baez screwed up the lyrics. And to agree with other sentiment here, yes, Levon should get some song writing credit for this one.
• Bill from Rensselaer, NyI believe this is one song that Robbie should definitely have shared songwriting credit with Levon Helm.
• Alan from London, United KingdomSee the book Levon Helm wrote about The Band. It's called This Wheel's On Fire. Levon says he wrote the song with Robbie.Levon is from Arkansas and knows a bit about the history of the South. Robbie was credited for writing this song and a whole heap of other songs but in fact, according to Helm and the other members of The Band, he was not the sole writer. He just got the money from the copyright. Another Rock 'n Roll rip off it seems.
• Becky from Vadnais Heights, MnWar is hell - and I don't care what side you're on. At 48 I'm recently finding myself becoming fascinated with the Civil War and with this song. I too grew up with it in the 70's and have long admired its haunting melody. I hate war even though I know it is necessary at times. But this war, this war.... During other wars we gather together, we support each other, lean on each other. Those not in the war could worry and mourn together. This is truly the saddest war, the most heartbreaking we've experienced. Anger you can get past but the deep pain this war inflicted on both sides is something that this nation may never completely heal from. Both sides did both horrible and honorable things; the most honorable was that together, after all the horrors everyone went through, they were able to somehow come together again and rebuild this nation. (The Brit's must have really enjoyed watching our "family feud.") Boy can we rally around and justify around our hatred of the Nazi's, the Communists, the terrorists and our behavior during those wars. Sure, we know we did wrong things during those wars, but how easy is it for us to rationalize the actions we felt we had to take. But how do you justify what we did to each other? Could there ever be a more horrible and heartbreaking war? The more I learn about the Civil War the sadder I become. -And the stronger my pride is for the unbelievable courage displayed by BOTH sides. I've been a Northerner all my life but honestly I don't want to even think about having to chose sides in this 'contest' because everyone lost so very, very much. To wrap up, is anyone aware of an in-depth article by Robbie Robertson in which he explains his lyrics? I bet he feels a bit like Don McLean with his American Pie lyrics. According to him, we all put way more thought and meaning into those words than he did when he wrote them. I saw him on a news program and he seemed to get quite a chuckle out of people's fascination with deciphering every last word in that epic song! Becky, Vadnais Heights, MN
• Sandi from Bel Air, MdExcellent song that still gives me goosebumps when I hear it. The Black Crowes do an excellent live version on their Freak and Roll live show/DVD. My family is from the mtns of NC. I've done family research and have seen where a few ancestors submitted for reimbursment for damage done to their farms when Stoneman's Cav came thru.
  
  From some of the comments about the war between the north & south (Northern Agression, as I prefer), I can tell that they have no idea what they're talking about. The War was a result of much more than just slavery. I wish more people would research history.
• Jimmy from Bartlett, Tnrobert e lee was in tennesse during the war there are momuments of were he had been at a few places i know he was at fort donaldson because i go there about twice a year and there he has a momument
• Dan from Houston, TxRegarding the Yankee student of the war of Northern Agression, no offense intended, the taking of the best did not refer to pigs, but to the best of the young men of the south, who died defending their homeland. Otherwise, I think your interpretations were on the money.
• Amy from Okc, Ok(quoting another person) "Nobody cared about slavery."
  
  I'd be willing to bet the slaves did.
  
  
  Now as to "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down",it is and will always remain a ballad that touches one deep down in their soul,and is one of those rare songs that could have been sung a hundred years ago, or a hundred years from now.
  
  
• Frank from Madison, AlAs many have commented above, the timeline after the war that the song is referenceing was a time of sadness, poverty and struggle. And many sightings of Robert E. Lee were reported that were not true because many clinged to hopes that their hero and the their beloved South could rebound. So thinking that someone they saw just might be Robert E. Lee was giving them the flicker of hope that the war was not in vein and that there was a hope for tomorrow and that the South was still strong, so it is very fiting in its time and place in the song. - Frank Ryan, Madison, Alabama
• Danny from Boston, MaI didn't bother to read the comments, so someone probably already said this, but this song is about when the Union burned down Richmond (Dixie)
• Big Ed from Pulaski, Tneveryboby needs to remember that its just a song, a pretty darn good song!!!!!!!!! the Band had a very certain sound, which is Levon Helm. he did an awesome job on " The Weight" . he also played a preacher in the movie Fire Down Below with Steven Seagal.
• Abc from Daytona, FlThe Civil War was NOT about slavery. Nobody cared about slavery. The North wanted to abolish slavery in order to deprive the South of labor, therefore putting them out of business. The Northerners were just as prejudicial of the black people as the southerners were, probably worse. Lots of slaves, once freed, declined to leave their former owners. Many of the slaves and the southerners regarded each other as family. Due to revisionist history, children are now taught that the war was fought to abolish slavery when in fact, it was fought over state's rights and the inequity of taxes between British cotton and Southern cotton. The emancipation of slaves was just a tactic that the North used to economically hurt the South. Although there were those, such as John Brown, who were against slavery and sought to abolish it, most Northerners didn't care one way or another.
• Don from Franklin, MaThis is an excellent song - though I disagree with several posters here. The 'Lee in Tennessee' argment forgets the timeline of the song - 'back with my wife in Tennessee' suggests after the war, and I recall Lee did make some travels to thank the soldiers who served under him. The song also doesnt mention if she was right - while Lee's face is still well known even today, most Southern newspapers during the war used a portrate of Lee as a young man, from his days at West Point, so Mrs. Cain might easily have been mistaken.
  Nor do I think this song has much to do with race, though it does foster the Lost Cause myth, which tends to ignore or grossly distort the tragedy of slavery. The perspective of this story is one of a single person, recounting what he saw at the end of the war, and lamenting what it had done to his family - thats much more universal, which is why I think this song resonates so well, its not a history of the Civil War, its just one guy, and he could be anyone, from any war.
• Pat from Vienna, AustriaI am alone in my worry. the night they drove old dixie down is an extraordinary song and one i love but as i understand it it is sympathetic to the south which is by its existence within the the civil war a racist stance. i know it was somewhat confused but to glorify people supporting slavery and so a racist stance seems to me to say the least problematic. i maybe wrong and i hope so but and it is a big but. perhaps it is a liberal stance. i don't know and hope not. sure these people in the south suffered in the war but what about the slaves the north were 'trying' to liberate. or were they? history might say otherwise. a great song but!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Chloe from Hudson, CanadaI think Joan Baez was just sloppy, didn't know the words and couldn't be bothered finding out what they were.
  I love this song. Levon Helm's vocals fit it so perfectly that you believe he IS Virgil Cain.
• Rob from Albuquerque, NmAnother point: Perhaps Virgil's role in the War was a railroad engineer or something for the South, and he was put out of work when Stoneman wrecked the rail line.
  
  All this seems plausible, as I'll quote here from the Wikipedia article on Stoneman:
  
  "Stoneman assumed command of the Cavalry Corps of what would be known as the Army of the Ohio. As the army fought in the Atlanta Campaign under Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, Stoneman and his aide were captured by Confederate soldiers outside Macon, Georgia, becoming the highest ranking Union prisoner of war. He was a prisoner for three months.
  
  Stoneman was exchanged relatively quickly based on the personal request of Sherman to the Confederates and he returned to duty. In December 1864, he led a raid from East Tennessee into southwestern Virginia. He led raids into Virginia and North Carolina in 1865..."
  
  (The Wikipedia article on the Song states that it refers to the 1865 raids in this quote): "The lyrics tell of Virgil Caine 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."
  
  God I love the internet!
• Rob from Albuquerque, NmSpeaking as a Yankee student of the War, a couple points: R.E. Lee was never in Tennessee during the War. Except for a campaign in what's now West Virginia, he never left Virginia during the War-except when he invaded Maryland and Pennsylvania.
  
  Dansville, is in Virginia, but as I recall the railroad went from there through southwest Va. and into Tennessee near Bristol. From there, I presume it went to points west.
  
  The lines about "I don't mind 'em chopping wood, and I don't care if the money's no good" to me refers to two separate ideas: First off, when an army marched through an area, they tended to take all the wood they could- firewood, woodpiles, fences, etc. and use it for campfires. As for the "money" line, when the Rebs went through an area, their leaders- especially Lee- insisted that they pay for whatever they took from the locals. The payment would of course be in Confederate money, which was nearly worthless in the South, and less than useless elsewhere. (I seem to recall US soldiers, when they found it putting the money to a more immediate use, if you get my drift).
  
  So to me, Virgil is shrugging his shoulders at the loss of a lot of firewood to a passing (Confederate?) army, shrugging also at the useless money he was paid in, but is properly annoyed that the soldiers took things that they couldn't have any use for- it's well known that, in the latter months of the War, northern troops would take everything from a house, including women's clothes, and destroy the stuff for no reason. So "just take what you need and leave the rest".
  
  As far as food, another thing that was stolen in vast amounts, if they found livestock it would be taken and slaughtered for dinner. However, if they found a healthy pig and a sickly one, they'd probably take the good one and ignore the other. "But they should never have taken the very best".
  
  All that being said, it is a great song, regardless of which side you favor. I first knew the Baez version, which was okay. It was only a few years back that I heard the original, and fell in love with it. Far, far better than the knockoff.
  
  This concludes today's history lesson.
• Bill from Louisville, KyI do not believe Robert E Lee was ever in Tennessee, however, there were reports after the war of him been seen all over The South of course the majority of these were incorrect(maybe like Elvis was in the 80s?) Also, it would be logical to assume that Virgil lived in the eastern part of Tennessee since he serve in Virginia.
• Anderson from Ridgeland, MsAndrew in Memphis, just because Grant was in LaGrange during the Vicksburg campaign, doesn't mean that Lee was anywhere near there. Grant wasn't Lee's opponent at the time, nor until Grant was reassigned to the Army of the Potomac.
  
  If Lee ever set foot in Tennessee during or after the war, I've missed it.
• Riles from Riverview , MiMORE ON STONEMAN -- REF WIK -- George Stoneman, Jr. (August 22, 1822 ? September 5, 1894) was a career U.S. Army officer, a Union cavalry general in the American Civil War, and the Governor of California between 1883 and 1887.
  This has to be about the best song I listened to ever .. form first note to last
• Andrew from Memphis, TnI just wanted to respond to a previous subsequent comment made by - john-joseph, richmond, VA which I have quoted below:
  "Southerners all seem to be historians when it comes to our four years of fame but I don't remember Robert E. Lee ever being in Tennessee for Virgil to see. I guess that just proves that this wonderful songs, and one of my favorites, was written by a canadian."
  
  I wanted to say to this person that they need to research their historical facts before posting such garbage. At one point during the war General Grant and troops were stationed in La Grange, Tennessee where confederate soldiers eventually made their way through. Therefore, General R.E.Lee WAS in Tennessee for Virgil to see. Yes, the song was written by a Canadian who researched the history of the Civil War before he wrote the song. And, yes, southerners do tend to be historians so we can correct those of you who post ignorant comments on lyrical websites. Thanks.
  
• Peter from Redditch, EnglandJulianna Werding, one of Germany's most famous singer/songwriters used the tune for her first hit "Am Tag der Conny Kramer starb" ("The Night that Conny Kramer Died") about the death of a cloe friend who died of an overdose.
• Charles from Bronxville, NyThe rhythm in The Band's version is like a limp. You can imagine a Confederate Soldier with a makeshift crutch making his way down a muddy road relating how his heart has been broken. Sheree was right - to visit Civil War battlefields is something every American should do. A friend of mine has property near Clarksville VA. As we drove onto the property he stopped and pointed out a ridge of earth that ran through. "That's the old roadbed for the Danville Train." We had put the song on when we got into the house. Reading all your comments has given me a new and profound respect for this song.
• Kyle from Vancouver, CanadaIf you enjoy this song, definitely check out 'The Last Waltz', there is a great version of it on there. I find it interesting that The Band, being almost entirely Canadian could write such good lyrics about the American Civil War, and so accurately.
• Ed from Manassas, VaMaybe the "Robert E. Lee" in the song is the famous steamboat that was built right after the Civil War. If the Cains were in Western Tennessee they could have easily seen the steamboat rollin up and down the Mississippi.
• John-joseph from Richmond, VaSoutherners all seem to be historians when it comes to our four years of fame but I don't remember Robert E. Lee ever being in Tennessee for Virgil to see. I guess that just proves that this wonderful songs, and one of my favorites, was written by a canadian.
• Jameson from Lexington, KyAlways loved this song, both this and Joan Baez's version.
• J from Nyc, NyInteresting fact I learned from my gf (who, ironically, never heard the song and is from Memphis), the line, "I don't mind chopping wood, and I don't care that the money's no good," I always thought literally meant choppin' wood is not a lucrative job, but she seems to whole heartidly think it refers to confederate money being worth zilch their defeat, literally bankrupting people overnight.
• Chad from Houston, TxFreaking GREAT song...especially the live version from Last Waltz.
• Petter from Ã?ngelholm, SwedenJohnny Cash also covered this, in 1974 I think. very good cover.
• Tyler from Brantford, CanadaDan, I think you're confused. Levon sang lead, backed up by Rck and Richard. Therefore, three part harmony. No one else shares the lead.
• Dan from Lee, NhWhat's up with these three part hormony facts Levon Helm sang lead and Richard, Robbie, and Rick sang back up or sang part of the song like how Rick sings the Crazy Chester part in The Weight.
• James from London, EnglandIf you'e going to say song the lyrics are innacurate(May 10th) you should note it says by may 10th indicating this had happened before may 10th
  
• Luke from Maple Grove, MnAbsolutely brilliant drumming!!! Sounds just like a military march. My Favorite Band song by far!!
• Phil from San Jose, CaHats off to Robbie Robertson for writing this gem, but I have to go on record that without Levon Helm's stories about the Southern way of life, his gritty Southern voice, Rick Danko, Richard Manuels backing vocals, and Garth Hudson on keyboards, THIS SONG WOULD NOT BE WHAT IT IS!!
  Hell, this band would not be what it is!
  A true song that can move you to a differnt place and time, that has with stood the test of time.
  
• Mark from Boston, MaThe inaccurate lyrics in Joan Baez' cover are due to the fact that Baez originally learned the song by listening to the Band's album. She never actually saw the printed lyrics. She misheard the lyrcis, and recorded the song that way. In more recent years, at her concerts, she has been performing a version of the song much closer to the Band's original.
• Sheree G. Jordan from Baton Rouge, LaI was born in Mississippi, raised in rural Arkansas, moved to Louisiana at age 9.The myths about being a Southerner are true.We are full of pride, hospitality, home of the blues.If you have never been to Vicksburg,Port Gibson (the town to beautiful to burn)or any of the historic sites of the Civil War.do not go to your grave without seeing it. When you stand by the canons in Vicksburg, it is astounding, it is so overwhelming you can literally feel the souls of the soldiers, It is haunting. When you see the First Presbyterian church with the giant hand pointing to heaven, I was transformed, it is as if you can smell the smoke and feel blood under your feet. Deep in our hearts and souls, as Southerners all we can do is hang our heads and cry due to the beauty of the countryside and all those who gave their lives. That is why we call it Rebel Pride. Even the biggest rock stars in the world are obsessed with the South and all its' history and myths. One of the stories, I find fascinating is of Robert Plant driving into Clarksdale, getting out of his car, puts on headphones, sitting on a bench on Main Street listening to Robert Johnson, saying this is as close to Heaven as he has ever been.I would like to personally thank Mr. Robertson for writing it, I know he was channeling some intense unknown Southern Soul, and did not even know it. God Bless You.
• Anthony from Clearwater, FlThis song is a classic. Very vivid, pretty accurate, it really gives me goose bumps when I listen. Every true 'southerner' must salute this song when it's played!
• Jeff from Columbia, ScI remember this tune when I was little and recall it playing to the radio a good bit. It must've been very popular in the early 70's. I saw a video in 1985 that was made from a concert and it was good, but sad to hear it all over again. Over the years, like everything, it fell away from me off to the way side. My wife bought a cd called Goin South in 2001 and there it was. Being a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, it means a bit more to me now. As for Joan Biaz, I don't care for her version and don't choose to hear it. I feel that The Band hit the nail on the coffin so to speak and made the funeral dirge for the Confederacy.
• Jon from Roeland Park, KsI find this song very moving and painfully evocative of the Civil War, which is remarkable coming from a Canadian rock artist over a hundred years after the fact.
• Geoffrey from Fort Collins, CoAlthough covered successfully by Joan Baez, she butchered many of the lyrics. For example, she sings, "Virgil Cain is my name and I drove on the Danville train. 'Til so much calvary came and tore up the tracks again." The original lyrics are, "Virgil Cain is THE name and I SERVED on the Danville train. 'Til STONEMAN'S calvary came and tore up the tracks again." There are several other inconsistencies between her version and The Band's original.
• Geoffrey from Fort Collins, CoIn the song, he states, "By May the 10th, Richmond had fell. It was a time...I remember oh so well." Actually, to contradict Brian slightly, it's actually more historically accurate to phrase this the way Robertson did. In the 1860's news travelled very slowly, particularly during times of war. This song is from the viewpoint of someone reflecting upon returning to "regular" life immediately following the end of the war. So, for Virgil Cain to look back and say that "by May the 10th Richmod had fell" would suggest that he had some event occur to him on that date related to the war, and that by that date the war had been lost, but not necessarilly that Richmond actually was captured on that date.
• Brian from Grand Forks, NdMay 10th 1865 was the date that Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia after fleeing Richmond... In reality, Richmond fell a month earlier... That's a slight nitpick with the accuracy... As you can see it's very slight and overall very impressive that a Canadian(Robbie Robertson) can display such a grasp over the emotions of the Civil War... I tip my Hat to Robbie...
• Dan from Auckland, New ZealandIn an interview, Robertson explains that when writing this he had to play piano very quietly. He also had to whisper the tune and lyrics to himself because his new born baby was sleeping in the next room.
• Byron from Detroit, MiSong was pretty historically correct. Stoneman was a Union calvary commander.

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