The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

November 28, 2009 | Professor Pete

[Professor Pete]

THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN

The night they drove old Dixie down

All the bluedogs were sinkin'

The night they drove old Dixie down

Say goodbye to Blanche Lincoln

She went---wah wah wah wah wah wah

Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah

Bartrum Stupak's my name

And I rode the Pro Lifer train

Til I took all the blame

And progressives came back again

Twas November third of ought-o-nine

We're divided, health care on the line

My amendment passed fairly well

I remember what followed next as a living hell

The night they drove old Dixie down

Bob McDonnell was winnin'

The night they drove old Dixie down

Indepedents were grinnin'

They went---ha ha ha ha ha ha

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

From Arkansas to Tennessee

We steep stronger brews of tea

Y'all must quick come see

Our reborn confederacy

Now, we all mind that health care is good

But we can't countenance Planned Parenthood

You tax our homesteads to pay for that

Revenuers from Bluegrass Mountains must surely scat

The night they drove old Dixie down

Ms Pelosi was spurrin'

The night they drove old Dixie down

With Heath Shuler concurrin'

He went---bah bah bah bah bah bah

Bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bah

Like Robert Lee before me

I live on rebel land

Though the Yankees ignore me

I own a dangerous hand

We were fifty two, proud and brave

But two dozen were all we could save

I swear by the blood of Chancellorsville

You can't raise a party back up 'gainst a people's will

The night they drove old Dixie down

Mary Landrieu was sighin'

The night they drove old Dixie down

Mister Pryor was cryin'

He went---ma ma ma ma ma ma

Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma

Raise the flag of Bobby Byrd

Sam Ervin, Fullbright and Nunn

Public option's the word

Our days of ascendancy done

You can bid goodbye solidarity

Any hope for party unity

Like Obamacare now lies dead

When the South doth arise again it will be blood red

The night they drove old Dixie down

All the moderates payin'

The night they drove old Dixie down

Hanford Dixon was prayin'

He went---la lawdy lawdy la

La lawdy la la lawdy la la

The night they drove old Dixie down

Steny Hoyer was sellin'

The night they drove old Dixie down

We arose in rebellion

We went---nah nah nah nah nah nah

Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah

The Prof

[jessduntno]

One of my favorite songs...especially the version they did live on the farewell concert, The Last Waltz...great song, great band...American music at it’s absolute best...

[BOBTHENAILER]

Great re-wording of a fantastic song.

[manc]

off to a memorial for a sons of confederate veterans member.

Hope you do not mind but I’d like t print this and take it with us.

[Michael.SF.]

In before the Northerners start ripping apart ol’ Dixie, and The Band’s great tribute to Southern Pride.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMHyovwX7JM

[carton253]

It’s a shame that most Dixie threads have to disintegrate so.

[eclecticEel]

...American music at it’s absolute best...

All but one Band member was Canadian ...

[jessduntno]

All but one Band member was Canadian ...

And? American music can’t be played by foreigners from far off CANADA? Levon Helm gave the best explanation of their music you can get;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peUvaaWowj8

[nathanbedford]

I confess I have never quite understood the lyrics of The Night They Tore Old Dixie Down because I thought it was somehow doctored by Joan Baez to fit her politically correct notion of how Southerners react to seeing their society" gone with the wind." So I looked up the song in Wikipedia and was astonished to find that it was written by a Canadian just a decade or so ago.

I have always preferred from the point of view of authenticity, "I'm A Good Old Rebel" the song and lyrics of which can be heard and read here:http://www.dixiescv.org/ole-rebel.html

If you listen to the song please tell me if you agree with me. I don't think it is nearly as good as the version done by Ry Coder which you might remember from the movie, "The Long Riders." That is the version I have on my cell phone and you might imagine that it raises more than a few quizzical eyebrows when my phone rings here in Germany.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

I remember the line in the original song “I don’t care if the money’s no good.” We may get that soon enough the way they are printing it. The south may save the nation this time.

[jessduntno]

Although Joan B sang it and Robbie Robertson got the writing ctredit, it was a Levon Helm song. And with all due respect, if levon doesn’t know anything about the south, well, shit...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peUvaaWowj8

Helm was the second of four children born to Nell and Diamond Helm in Elaine, Arkansas. Diamond was a cotton farmer who entertained occasionally as a musician. The Helm’s loved music and often sang together. They listened to The Grand Ole Opry and Sonny Boy Williamson and his King Biscuit Entertainers regularly on the radio. A favorite family pastime was attending traveling music shows in the area. According to his 1993 autobiography, This Wheel’s On Fire, Levon recalls seeing his first live show, Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, at six years old. His description: “This really tattooed my brain. I’ve never forgotten it.”
Hearing performers like Monroe and Williamson on the radio was one thing, seeing them live made a huge impression.

Levon’s father bought him his first guitar at age nine. At ten and eleven, whenever he wasn’t in school or at work on the farm, the boy could be found at KFFA’s broadcasting studio in Helena, Arkansas, watching Sonny Boy Williamson do his radio show, King Biscuit Time.
Helm made his younger sister Linda a string bass out of a washtub when he was twelve years old. She would play the bass while her brother slapped his thighs and played harmonica and guitar. They would sing songs learned at home and popular hits of the day, and billed themselves as “Lavon and Linda.” Because of their fresh faced good looks, obvious musical talent and Levon’s natural ability to win an audience with sheer personality and infectious rhythms, the pair consistently won talent contests along the Arkansas 4-H Club circuit.

[Tainan]

You did good.