Virgil Cane is my name
And I served on the Denville train
Till Stoneman's calvary came
And tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65
We were hungry just barely alive
I made 10th to Richmond that fell
It was the time that 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 la, la, la, la, la
Back with my wife in Tennessee
Well, one day she called to me
Virgil quick come see
That there goes Robert E Lee
Now I don't mind choppin' woods
And I don't care if the money's no good
You take what you need and 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 la, la, la, la, la
Like my father before me
I'm a working man
And like my brother that'll love me
He took the rebel stand
But he was just eighteen
Proud and brave
And a Yankee
Laid him in his grave
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 la, la, la, la, la