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The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

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The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
  Intro
	[ C{sustain for 2 beats}, D, E, F, G] 
  Verse 1 
	  AmVirgil C/GCaine is the name and I sFerved on the F/EDanville Dmtrain 
	 Am'Til Stoneman's CC/Gavalry came and Ftore up the F/Etracks a-Dmgain 
	 Am/EIn the Winter of 'F65, we were Chungry, Dmjust barely alive 
	 Am/EBy May the tenth FRichmond had fell, it's a Ctime I re-Dmmember, oh, so Dwell  
  Chorus 
	The C/Gnight they Fmaj7drove Old Dixie C/Gdown and the Fmaj7bells were ringing 
	The C/Gnight they Fmaj7drove Old DixC/Gie down and aFmaj7ll the people were singing 
	They went, C/G"La, la, la, Amla, la, la, la, Gsus4la, la, la, la, la, Fla, la, la, la" 
  Lead-in to verse 2
	[C, E, G,  C{sustain for six beats}, D, E, F, G] 
  Verse 2 
 	 AmBack with my wife in CTennessee when Fone day shF/Ee called to Dmme 
 	 Am"Virgil quick come Csee, Fthere goes the F/ERobert E. DmLee" 
 	 Am/ENow, I don't mind Fchoppin' wood and I Cdon't care if the Dmmoney's no good 
	 Am/EYa' take what ya' need and ya' Fleave the rest 
	 But they should never hCave taken tDmhe very best D  
  Repeat chorus 
  Lead-in to verse 3 
	[C, E, G, C] F, C, [C, E, G,  C{sustain for 6 beats} C, E, F, G] 
  Verse 3; repeat verse 2 chord progression 
	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 
  (Repeat chorus) 
  Lead-in to repeat chorus
	[C, E, G, C] Bm, Bb, Am, Ab(b5), C/G,  D/F#  
  (Repeat chorus)

All chords in this song (16)

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The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

by William Ruhlmann

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

C/G

F/E

Am/E

Fmaj7

Gsus4

D/F#

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Intro

C D E F G

[ {sustain for 2 beats}, , , , ]

Verse 1

Am C/G F F/E Dm

Virgil Caine is the name and I served on the Danville train

Am C/G F F/E Dm

'Til Stoneman's Cavalry came and tore up the tracks a-gain

Am/E F C Dm

In the Winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive

Am/E F C Dm D

By May the tenth Richmond had fell, it's a time I re-member, oh, so well

Chorus

C/G Fmaj7 C/G Fmaj7

The night they drove Old Dixie down and the bells were ringing

C/G Fmaj7 C/G Fmaj7

The night they drove Old Dixie down and all the people were singing

C/G Am Gsus4 F

They went, "La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la"

Lead-in to verse 2

C E G C D E F G

[, , , {sustain for six beats}, , , , ]

Verse 2

Am C F F/E Dm

Back with my wife in Tennessee when one day she called to me

Am C F F/E Dm

"Virgil quick come see, there goes the Robert E. Lee"

Am/E F C Dm

Now, I don't mind choppin' wood and I don't care if the money's no good

Am/E F

Ya' take what ya' need and ya' leave the rest

C Dm D

But they should never have taken the very best

Repeat chorus

Lead-in to verse 3

C E G C F C C E G C C E F G

[, , , ] , , [, , , {sustain for 6 beats} , , , ]

Verse 3; repeat verse 2 chord progression

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

(Repeat chorus)

Lead-in to repeat chorus

C E G C Bm Bb Am Ab C D/F#

[, , , ] , , , (b5), /G,

(Repeat chorus)

About The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down Chords by William Ruhlmann

Learn how to play The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by William Ruhlmann with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down chords”, “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down guitar chords”, or “William Ruhlmann The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down chords and for experienced players who want accurate The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include C, D, E, F, G, Am.

FAQ — The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by William Ruhlmann

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What key is "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" in?

The chords for "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" show the original chord names (including C, D, E, F, G, Am). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.