[Verse 1]
Am C/G F Am
Virgil Caine is my name and I drove on the Danville train
C/G Am F Am
Till so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
F C/G Am F
In the winter of 'sixty-five, we were hungry, just barely alive
Am F
I took the train to Richmond that fell
C/G Am D D7
It was a time I remember, oh, so well
[Chorus]
C/G Am F C/G
The night they drove old Dixie down
Am
And all the bells were ringin';
C/G Am F C/G
The night they drove old Dixie down
Am
And all the people were singin'; they went:
C/G Am
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
D
La, la, la, la, la, la
F
La, la, la
[Verse 2]
Am C/G
Back with my wife in Tennessee
F Am
And one day she said to me
C/G Am
Virgil, quick come see
F Am
There goes the Robert E. Lee
F C/G
Now I don't mind chopping wood
Am F
And I don't care if the money's no good
Am F
Just take what you need and leave the rest
C/G Am D D7
But they should never have taken the very best
[Chorus]
C/G Am F C/G
The night they drove old Dixie down
Am
And all the bells were ringin';
C/G Am F C/G
The night they drove old Dixie down
Am
And all the people were singin'; they went:
C/G Am
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
D
La, la, la, la, la, la
F
La, la, la
[Verse 3]
Am C/G F Am
Like my father before me, I'm a working man
C/G Am F Am
And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand
F C/G
Oh, he was just 18, proud and brave
Am F
But a yankee laid him in his grave
Am F
I swear by the blood below my feet
C/G Am D D7
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat
[Chorus]
C/G Am F C/G
The night they drove old Dixie down
Am
And all the bells were ringin';
C/G Am F C/G
The night they drove old Dixie down
Am
And all the people were singin'; they went:
C/G Am
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
D
La, la, la, la, la, la
F Am
La, la, la