The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - Definition

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is a rock and roll song written by Robbie Robertson and first recorded by The Band in 1969.

At first consideration it may seem odd that Robertson, a half-Mohawk Indian, half-Jewish Canadian, could have created a song about the American South. But consider the story within the song, as told by Virgil Cain, a non-combatant railroad worker witnessing the scorched-earth atrocities of the American Civil War from the losing side. Cain watches as the Union Army General George Stoneman destroys the railroad that is his livelihood; watches as Richmond, Virginia falls; mourns the loss of his brother who was "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 equally valid as an expression of grief from a Native as from a Confederate perspective.

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.

Though never a major hit, "Dixie" was the centerpiece and soul of The Band's self-titled second album, and, along with "The Weight" from the Big Pink sessions, remains the song most identified with the group. The song spawned a handful of cover versions, notably Joan Baez' top-10 version from 1971.