The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

United States

U.S. South

time: 20th century

Lost Cause

U.S. Civil War

Reconstruction

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was written by a Canadian - with assistance from his Arkansas-born bandmate, Levon Helm - who spent an extended period of time in the U.S. South. The song depicts the story of a poor white Southerner and former Confederate soldier in the U.S. Civil War during its last year, and specifically, Gen. George Stoneman's raids on the railroads of Danville, Virginia. The song's association with the "Lost Cause" ideology stems from the lyrics related to righteousness on the part of southerners, most notably, the protagonist, Virgil Caine, and the feeling of defeat.

songwriter: Robbie Robertson

1969

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English

genre: roots rock

United States

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down: Constructing Reconstruction History" In The Long Reconstruction: The Post-Civil War South in History, Film, and Memory. Wetta, Frank J., and Novelli, Martin A. 2013. London: Taylor & Francis Group, 16. Accessed June 10, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central.

The Band

Sandy Trand

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [Youtube]