The Band, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Rock of Ages vs Before the Flood

Two of my favorite live albums are Rock of Ages and Before the Flood. The latter was the resurrection of Bob Dylan with The Band as backing group. Although Dylan rejected the tour afterwards the recordings from 1974 is great rock and roll. The Band manages to keep things together, both backing Dylan on three sides, but their “solo” side is characterized by the tightness of a professional routine combined with the extraordinary craftmanship. But The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down sounded three years even better before “The Flood”

Rock of Ages were recorded ultimo December 1971 on the Academy of Music in N.Y. The Band redefined their music, while Robbie Robertson continued his cooperation with Alain Touissant, who created the additional arrangements for the five piece strong horn section. The brass could have drowned the intimacy of the Bands catalogue, but it did not. After a period of declining cooperation and discipline in the group, the concerts turned into a musical rebirth.

The Band - a milestone in rock music

The documentary, Once Were Brothers (2019, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10334456/), is a must-see. The film has laid the ground for many Band-fans, discussing the feud between Robbie Robertson and especially Levon Helm. The film is no doubt seen from Robertsons perspective, and his is quite frank about the “problems” with the three lead singers in the group, Helm, Rick Danko and Richard Manuel, who were deeply affected by their substance abuse after the second album, The Band. Robertson was the undisputed, creative force in the song writing, but the other members had their share, which made the two first albums some of the best rock music coming out of the US, not just around 1970. The four Canadians (Garth Hudson was the fifth member, a multi-instrumentalist and anchor) and the only American, Levon Helm, formed the perfect melting pot for rock, folk, jazz and blues.

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Virgil Kane is the name
And I served on the Danville train
'Till Stoneman's cavalry came
And tore up the tracks again

In the winter of '65
We were hungry, just barely alive
By May the 10th, Richmond had fell
It's a time I remember, oh so well

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, "Na, na, la, na, na, la"

This is not a song based on historical facts - it´s about imagining

The two first verses and the chorus set the stage for the Canadian, Robertsons, tale of a young Southern man, eminently performed by the Arkansas-sibling, Levon Helm. The song just sounds authentic. Not in the method acting or artificial way, but honestly felt. From the deep of a Confederate heart.

This is not about historical facts, this about creating an understanding, a kind of empathy with this young man, Virgil Kane, who served on the Danville train. The railroad was the lifeline for General Lee and his troops, but in the beginning of April 1865 George B. Stoneman and his 4000 men strong unionist cavalry raided through confederate land and demolished the railroad tracks, bridges and roads. I this way Stoneman was tearing up the supply lines of the confederate army in Tennessee and North Carolina. Danville, Salem, Christiansburg, Jacksonville, one city after another fell. On the 9th of April General Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia. The capital of the confederate states fell and were burnt to the ground when the President Jefferson Davies and his government gave up the city. A month later Davies was caught unionist troops. That was the end of five years, devastating civil war. But not the wounds, the hatred, the hostility.

The march

Robertsons lyrics are simple, heartfelt and melancholic describing the defeat from a young mans perspective. The melody is a march, not commonly used in rock music. Here it is perfect.

Rock music is not overflowing with march music, not at all. But other bands have succeeded , just vto mention two classic tracks. The Kinks´ Deadend Street (1966) and The Clash´ London Calling (1979) are also marches, but here the music supportsa social and political indignation far from the low keys of The Band