The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
"The song's lyric refers to conditions in the Southern states in the winter of early 1865 ("We were hungry / Just barely alive"); the Confederacy is starving and on the verge of defeat. Reference is made to the date May 10, 1865, by which time the Confederate capital of Richmond had long since fallen (in April); May 10 marked the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the definitive end of the Confederacy."
"Robertson claimed that he had the music to the song in his head but had no idea what it was to be about: "At some point [the concept] blurted out to me. Then I went and I did some research and I wrote the lyrics to the song."
Wikipedia
17 comments:
Robertson's claim to being the sole author of this, or any of The Band's material, was angrily contested by the other members of the band.
This song humanizes the southern Confederate citizenry. Is or was Robertson a racist?
Reference is made to the date May 10, 1865, by which time the Confederate capital of Richmond had long since fallen (in April);
The death of the Confederacy coincides with the birth of our modern Memorial Day observance, the exact location of which is controversial. One thing is clear though: Memorial Day was started by women. Springtime renewal and all.
I know I'm not the only one, but the South is a confusing emotional thing for me, even though my family is Union through and through with Union heroes in my linage, I am torn between the heroic and grassroots nature of the their resistance, and the atrocity it was born of and attempting to protect.
There is nothing more damaging or inexcusable in all of American history than slavery, but those people of the Confederacy rose up with such admirable over-achievement in battle that I can't help but admire the spirit and accomplishment of it. Those who accomplished this were very rarely of the slave-holding class, although many leaders were. They were fighting for their country, their freedom, their family, and their neighbors.
There are endless examples though history of such heroic performance in the service of evil.
As good as we strive to be, we can never lose track of the bigger picture, which is always the closer view of each other as humans, born with innate rights protected only by our brothers willingness to die for them, or even more importantly to be unpopular among our own when they stray from decency.
Such a waste of human potential of the greatest we may ever have produced on both sides.
That's that sense of empathy that makes some art so powerful. "I swear by the mud below my feet, you can't raise a Caine back up when he's in defeat."
Just now thought of the play on "raising cain".
It's also one of those fantastic poor, poor me songs in the great Americana tradition. There's a strong streak of self-pity that runs through a lot of great popular music.
I thought it was about musicians dying in a plane crash.
There's a difference between self-pity and lament, with lament being a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form.
Lament resonates; self pity, not so much.
When I hear that song I always think of the cane-fields of Louisiana--besides which, there is now a 100-restayrant fast-food chain HQ'd in Baton Rouge named "Raising Cane's chicken fingers"
Just a little off-tangent commentary..
I live south of Danville on land where the largest group of Confederate soldiers bivouacked prior to mustering out after they surrendered to Sh*rman. This is a song with much local relevance.
It is a song about being defeated, not about giving up. Unlike liberals and city slickers, we will not give up. Feel free to collectivize and huddle together all you care to, some of us will resist your desire to rule our lives until our lives are over. Better to die a free man than to be bear the yoke of an oppressive gang of bureaucrats.
Molon labe, statists.
Molon Rogue!
Chip Ahoy said...
I thought it was about musicians dying in a plane crash.
You must be thinking of Lynyrd Skynyrd
Otis Redding - just another reason to hate Wisconsin, if you ask me.
I guess this is supposed to be an anti-war song, something aiming for the universality of the needless suffering of war. So maybe that's why Joan Baez recorded it. But I think it has the opposite effect of romanticizing the Southern cause, which at heart meant keeping the old way of life based on slavery. Anyway, I've always felt uneasy listening to it, although that's never stopped me from humming along with it. Song is dangerous stuff.
ARM said: There's a strong streak of self-pity that runs through a lot of great popular music.
MamaM said...
There's a difference between self-pity and lament, with lament being a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form.
Bob Dylan wrote some self-pitying songs and verses: "How many roads must I walk down, before you call me a man."
"Tangled Up In My Blues"
Lydia said...
I guess this is supposed to be an anti-war song, something aiming for the universality of the needless suffering of war. So maybe that's why Joan Baez recorded it. But I think it has the opposite effect of romanticizing the Southern cause, which at heart meant keeping the old way of life based on slavery. Anyway, I've always felt uneasy listening to it, although that's never stopped me from humming along with it. Song is dangerous stuff.
So is prose. The "Last Letters From Stalingrad" has the effect of humanizing German soldiers, some of whom were probably Nazis.
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