And all the people were singing!
Here’s a bit of trivia. In the original lyrics, one line goes:
“Till Stoneman’s cavalry came and tore up the tracks again”
(George Stoneman was a Union Calvary general.)
But Joan Baez misunderstood the line, and instead sang:
“Till so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again”
I kinda like the misunderstood version better.
Aw, crap. Autocorrect strikes again. In my post #3 it should read:
(George Stoneman was a Union cavalry general.)
I don’t think Gen. Stoneman ever fought in Jerusalem!
2025, not 2024.
Joan’s version of this song is what I expect whenever I hear the title. She sang the hell out of it, was at the height of her vocal powers.
Just as Sinead O’Conner’s version of Nothing Compares 2 U became far better known that any other version, (whether songwriter Prince was jealous of her success or not!) Joan Baez took ownership of Dixie, when she sang it.
But this song is confusing to me. After the war is over, there are these words:
Back with my wife in Tennessee
When one day she called to me
“Virgil, quick, come see,
There goes Robert E. Lee!”
Robert E Lee was never in Tennessee during or after the war. This must be a reference to the passenger river boat on the Mississippi, the Robert E. Lee. This is the steamboat that won the famous race with the Natchez. It launched in 1866.
But the lyrics don’t say “there goes the Robert E. Lee.” The lyrics say there goes Robert E. Lee, like it was the man. So which is it? The man or the riverboat?
The one by The Band with Levon Helm is the greatest version by far. By Far! He sounds like Virgil Caine himself with all of the emotions attached. Joan Baez sounds like a Yankee who was gloating over the defeat of the South—especially in the “Na, na, na” part.
The Band > Joan Baez
“ Patriots need to sing this on January 20, 2024 when Trump takes back the Nation and drive the Liberals into camps.”
If Trump wins and is sworn in I’ll sing this song on stage in a Speedo with nipple tassels.
Her attempts to dissuade him from using drugs go for nought, and he is increasingly hooked. He finally announces, "I can see heaven" as his girlfriend calls for him to come back--and then he succumbs to an overdose. All that remains are the flowers on his grave as his girlfriend's world collapses.
Am Tag als Conny Kramer Starb (the day Conny Kramer died)--Juliane Werding (1972)
Those were the days. The left loved the South and despised the North. Now, the left loves the North, and despises the South.