The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Joan BaezMatt Goodstein

Lyrics

Virgil Caine is my name, and I drove on the Danville train,'Til Stonemans cavalry came and tore up the tracks again.In the winter of '65, We were hungry, just barely alive.I took a train to Richmond that fell, It was 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 all the people were singin'. They went La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La,

Back with my wife in Tennessee, and one day she said to me,"Virgil, quick, come see, there goes the the Robert E. Lee!"Now I don't mind choppin' 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)

Like my father before me, I'm a working man, And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand.Well, 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 the cane back up when it's in the feed.

(Chorus and fade)

Work Cited

Joan BaezJoan Baez was born on January 9, 1941 in Staten Island New York. Her music career started off when she began attending Boston University. She started off playing her music in local clubs and coffeehouses. In 1959 she was invited to play at the Newport Folk Festival where she was a huge hit. In 1960 she was signed to Vanguard Records and released her first album. Once she recorded the first album she was rapidly growing in popularity. Most of her songs are about political and social issues in the world today. She has toured with many major artist such as bob Dylan. Joan Baez has been actively performing for over 50 years and has recorded over 30 studio albums. At the beginning of her career she became actively involved in civil rights and non-violence movements. She sings about solving problems in the Middle East and Latin America. She is a very inspirational artist (Lewis).

For more information visit: http://www.joanbaez.com/officialbio08.html

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George StonemanGeorge Stoneman fought in the American Revolution for the Union Army. He started out the war as a major of the First US Calvary. Later in the war he was promoted to Brigadier General of the 4th US Calvary. He commanded his Calvary to try and capture Richmond. After his attempt to capture Richmond he was promoted to the Rank of Major General. He fought many more battles after he was promoted. After the war he Stoneman served in many post under the Democratic Party. He died in 1894 in Los Angeles. George Stoneman is mentioned in this song during his attempt to capture Richmond. for additional information visit:http://www.militarymuseum.org/Stoneman.html

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Richmond

Richmond is the capital of the state of Virginia. During the Civil War it was the capital of Confederacy. Richmond was the target of many United States attacks during the war. Richmond was captured by Grant in April 1865. The confederates that were abandoning Richmond burnt it to the ground before they left. In the song Joan Baez talks about a single attack on Richmond by George Stoneman. For more information visit: http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Richmond_During_the_Civil_War

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Dixie

The definition of Dixie is the southern states that seceded from the United States of America in 1861. The song says “the night they drove old Dixie down” this line is meaning the night the Union defeated and captured the Southern States.

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Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee was born January 19, 1807. He followed in his father’s military footsteps and went to West Point. He graduated second in his class in 1829. For the next 23 years Lee served in many different military positions. Lee didn’t support the south’s succession from the United States but his loyalty was with Virginia. In the Civil War Lee started off being the Commander of the Virginia forces. By the end of the war he was promoted to General-In-Chief of all Confederate Armies. After the war Lee returned to Richmond and served as the President of Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. Lee became ill and died on October 12, 1870.for additional information visit:http://americancivilwar.com/south/lee.html

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Rebel Stand

A rebel is someone who opposes takes arm against a government or a ruler. During the Civil War the word rebel meant a Confederate because the confederacy succeeded from the Union and tried to overthrow the Union or the government. In this song Baez says “I took a rebel stand”, this means that he was a Confederate Soldier during the Civil War and tried to overthrow the Union.

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Yankee

A Yankee is a native or inhabitant of the Northern United States. In the Civil War a Yankee was a Union Soldier because they were on the side of the Northern part of the United States. They fought against the Confederate Soldiers known as Rebels. In the song he is talking about how his brother who was a Rebel was fighting in the war and A Yankee troop killed him.

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Imagery

The line in this song “the bells were ringing” is a literary example of imagery. Imagery is descriptive language that evokes your senses. “The bells were ringing” evokes your sense of sound. In the story the bells are ringing because the confederacy had fallen to the Union.

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Repetition

Repetition is the repeating of a word in a sentence or line. In the song the word la was repeated. The line was “La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La”. In the song the people were singing that because the Union defeated the South.

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Rhyme Scheme

Rhyme Scheme is the pattern of rhyme in the lines of a poem or song. In one paragraph of this song the rhyme scheme is weird, it goes AAAABBCCDD.

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Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. The song name “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” is a metaphor because it is talking about the night when the southern states were defeated.

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Work Cited• Enfield, Robert L. Joan Baez. 1998. berkley photo gallery. N.p., n.d. Web. 30

May 2010. http://home.att.net/~enfield/fsm_gallery.htm• Claxton, William. Joan Baez. 1962. The Basement Rug. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May

2010. http://basementrug.com/903• George Stonemane. N.d. NNDB. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2010.

http://www.nndb.com/people/134/000097840/• Confederates Set Fire to Downtown area of Richmond. N.d. River Pictures.

N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2010. http://www.curlesneck.com/river.htm

• Vannerson, Julian. Robert E. Lee. N.d. Robert E. Lee Pictures . N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2010. http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/ photo_gallery.htm

Work Cited cont.• Johnny Rebel. 1913. Son of the South. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2010.

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/uncle-sam/johnny-rebel.htm• John. Union Soldiers. 2002. NIAHD Journals. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2010.

http://niahd.wm.edu/index.php?browse=image&id=13042• Union and Confederate Soldiers. N.d. Masonic Sourcebook. N.p., n.d. Web.

31 May 2010. http://www.masonicsourcebook.com/civil_war_brotherhood.htm

• "yankee." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.Merriam-Webster Online. 27 May 2010http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/yankee

• "rebel." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2010.Merriam-Webster Online. 27 May 2010http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/rebel

Work Cited cont.• "Robert Edward Lee." Home of the American Civil War. N.p., 25 Nov. 2006.

Web. 28 May 2010. http://www.civilwarhome.com/leebio.htm

• DeCredico, Mary A. "Richmond During the Civil War." Encyclopedia Virginia. Ed. Brendan Wolfe. 2 Jun. 2010. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. 28 May. 2010 http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Richmond_During_the_Civil_War

• Simkin, John. "George Stoneman." Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2010.http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWstoneman.htm

• Lewis, Jone Johnson. "Joan Baez." About. Jone Johnson Lewis, n.d. Web. 18 May 2010. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/joanbaez/a/joan_baez.htm