The Band

Robbie Robertson  wrote "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and The Band recorded it in 1969, with Levon Helm singing lead.  The song tells about the days towards the end of the Civil War.  Robertson, interestingly, is Canadian.

The Band, 1968. L-r: Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson in the Catskills posing for Music From Big Pink. Photo © Elliott Landy.

Part way through the song (at 1:07 in the video), there is an eerie harmonica being played, just as the lyrics "Virgil, quick, come see, There goes Robert E. Lee!" are being sung.  I had always assumed that "Robert E. Lee" was the name of a train because the harmonica so closely resembles a train passing, and due to the reference to a train in the second line of the song.  Excellent use of the harmonica, I had always thought.

I pointed this out to our girls during one of our music education classes (they get a great education from me in this department).  They agreed with my powers of observation.  Then, out of curiosity, I did some research into the song.  Turns out, "Robert E. Lee" does not refer to a train.  Most likely, it was originally written to refer to General Robert E. Lee.  However, Robertson apparently got the timing of the events out of order, making the passing by of Lee impossible at this point in the song.  Others, recognizing this flaw, changed the lyric to "There goes The Robert E. Lee!"  This refers to a steamboat by that name.

The harmonica sounds nothing like a steamboat whistle.  So I am going to ignore the facts, and go on believing that "There goes Robert E. Lee" actually refers to an imaginary train by that name.  Never let the facts get in the way of a great story.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

by The Band

(click link to listen)

Virgil Kane is the name
And I served on the Danville train
'Till Stoneman's cavalry came
And tore up the tracks again

In the winter of '65
We were hungry, just barely alive
By May the 10th, Richmond had fell
It's a time I remember, oh so well

The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

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 chopping wood
And I don't care if the 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 the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

Like my father before me
I will work the land
And like my brother above me
Who took a rebel stand

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

The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

Note:  This is the second entry in a group of posts under the topic "Sad Songs".  The first post under that topic is, sadly enough, stuck in editing, and will come later.