C 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 again. 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 remember, 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 the people were singin'. they went C/g am gsus4 f c La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, 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 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. (chorus) Am c f f/e dm Like my father before me, i will work the land, Am c f f/e dm Like my brother above me, who took a rebel stand. Am/e f c dm He was just eighteen, proud and brave, but a yankee laid him in his grave, Am/e f I swear by the mud below my feet, C dm d You can't raise a caine back up when he's in defeat.