[Verse 1]
Virgil Caine is the name, and I served on the Danville Train
Until Stonemason cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember, oh so well

[Chorus]
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
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

[Verse 2]
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

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
Like my father before me, I will work the land
Like my brother above me, who took a rebel stand
He was just eighteen, proud and brave, but a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat