[Verse 1]
Virgil Caine is my name and I drove on the Danville train
Till so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of 'sixty-five, we were hungry, just barely alive
I took the train to Richmond that fell
It was a time I remember, oh, so well

[Chorus]
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin'
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singin'
They went:
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la

[Verse 2]
Back with my wife in Tennessee
And one day she said to me
Virgil, quick come see
There goes the Robert E. Lee
Now I don't mind chopping wood
And I don't care if the money's no good
Just take what you need and leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best
[Chorus]
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin'
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singin'
They went:
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la

[Verse 3]
Like my father before me, I'm a working man
And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand
Oh, he was just eighteen, proud and brave
But a yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the blood below my feet
You can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat

[Chorus]
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin'
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singin'
They went:
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la