The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

Am      C/G                      F             C/E      Dm
Virgil Caine is the name, and I served on the Danville train
Am               C/G              F           C/E     Dm
'Til Stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
Am/E              F           C/G          Dm
In the winter of '65, We were hungry, just barely alive
Am/E               F
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell,
        C/G      Dm            D/F#
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'
           C/G Am Gsus4 F C
They went, "La, la, la"

Back with my wife in Tennessee
When one day she called to me
"Virgil, quick, come see, there goes Robert E.Lee"
Now I don't mind choppin' wood
And I don't care if the money's no good
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

Chorus:
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "La, la, la"

Like my father before me, I will work the land
And 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

Chorus:
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "La, la, la"
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down
And the people were singing
They went, "La, la, la"


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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Am

Guitar chord Am

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

Dm

Guitar chord Dm

E

Guitar chord E

F

Guitar chord F

Fm

Guitar chord Fm

F#

Guitar chord F#

Fmaj7

Guitar chord Fmaj7

Fmaj

Guitar chord Fmaj

G

Guitar chord G

Gsus4

Guitar chord Gsus4

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by The Band.

The Band Song List