Robbie Robertson Discusses Meaning Behind "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"

Robbie Robertson sat down with SiriusXM host John Fugelsang to discuss his illustrious career and more.
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[@manxT]

All I've ever heard in the story was a battle weary soldier lamenting the destruction of war and the loss of friends and family. You can hear the fatigue and heartache in Levon's voice. No one has ever sung it better and no one ever will. A timeless classic by a timeless band.

[@karend169]

You are so right. I knew Levon's voice was bone tired and now I understand how well that fits with that song. Now I get it.

[@spb7883]

Also, a *timely* one when it was written, which of course was during Vietnam.

[@JustSayN2O]

Joan Baez turned this song into a #1 hit, in the USA and Canada, and is a certified Gold Record. Both her version, and The Band's version, are excellent.

[@RustyShakleford01]

Exactly. These people were dirt floor poor, and were forced to fight in a war that made them even more poor. They have a tragic story just the same as any other folk in history and there can be a song about them. Anyone saying otherwise can sit on it and rotate.

[@sierravista9013]

Yup

[@omaspen]

This is not a racist song. It is a sad haunting song about a broken defeated people.

[@keithwallace1665]

Joan baez version became a singalong version with a bouncing ball following the lyrics !most people didn't even understand what the songs was about thanks to her version and I never really liked her voice that much

[@kepot111460]

I'm Black and this is one of my favorite songs of all time. It's a story that anyone can relate to, especially if you know anything about American History.

[@janebraun4482]

Thank you, and know that there were black southern rebels not happy about the war I have heard!@@kepot111460

[@torasacramento4905]

YEP! But some people will continue to over look that and just focus on the fact that the song mentions Robert E Lee and that the subject of the song had a brother who fought as a rebel...

[@gesx6598]

@@keithwallace1665 She screwed up the lyrics.

[@BobSacamano226]

RIP, Robbie. Such amazing singers, musicians, song writers, and performers. We will never see the likes of these story tellers again.

[@DH-ij9pe]

“I was trying to find a song that Levon could sing better than anyone in the world” well Robbie, you did it.

[@davidoneill4859]

Yup, thank God Levon and this song found each other

[@speakeasyusa]

SO TRUE!

[@SK-tf4kp]

I couldn’t agree with you more.

[@shinigami146]

OMG, I was going to say the same exact thing. Almost word for word. Also, RIP Levon Helm!

[@Peter-gf4qd]

Until Jerry Garcia came around

[@sugardaddy4714]

This is like writing a song from the point of view of a German who lost everything in the Dresden bombing, or a Japanese whose family was killed in Hiroshima, this doesn't equate to a support for Nazism or Imperial Japan. Even behind a wrong cause, there are human tragedies.

[@ni200v]

Exactly! Thank you for writing exactly what I was thinking! I feel like this applies to so much in history; we can recognize errors, mistakes, and crimes, while at the same time recognizing the heroism and beauty of the human experience, wherever we find it.

[@boddaboom77]

"Even behind a wrong cause, there are human tragedies." Absolutely, and I don't think I could have said it any better. In every war in history there are innocent people who are trying to live their lives and they get thrown into the middle of something that is completely foreign to them and it destroys their little place in the world.

[@The_Vanilla_Guerilla]

There were such atrocities perpetrated against the south from the union soldiers. They raped and pillaged innocent people who had no part in the doings of slavery, just poor folks trying to survive. It shows the ugliness of war, and even moreso, a civil war. Executing crimes against your fellow countrymen.

[@jmc7504]

@@The_Vanilla_Guerilla being southern & proud goes beyond race, its a way of life, in the air force the one thing brother had in common with roommates was being southern regardless of color

[@peterrobertson2580]

Amen

[@t-boog2173]

With "Dixie Down" Robbie def accomplished writing a song that Levon sang better than anyone else. I don't like hearing anyone else sing that song. I don't care how good their voice is, it's Levon's forever.

[@matthewpeterson1784]

Joan Baez is great

[@t-boog2173]

@@matthewpeterson1784 If you like her version more power to you but for me, The Band knocked it out the park and I don't like to hear anyone else cover it. Just like I don't wanna hear anyone sing Sultans of Swing other than Mark Knopfler or anyone sing Moondance other than Van Morrison. Not to mention, Joan Baez is a female so singing, "Virgil Kaine is the name... Back with my wife... etc, just doesn't work. It makes the lyrics secondary & disingenuous(like Tuesday night Karaoke). But again, if you like it... Rock On!

[@matthewpeterson1784]

@@t-boog2173 Thanks, I hear you!

[@t-boog2173]

@@matthewpeterson1784 Btw, I agree with you in that Joan Baez is a great singer & songwriter. My Mom was a big fan of hers so I grew up hearing her records and I def see why people love her music. Cheers Matt! 🍻

[@ColdAndBrew]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hny6Z52naNqipcU

[@MeetTheMuse]

Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone deserves a voice. Thank you, Robbie! Rest in peace.

[@DNJWilliams]

I’m a proud, Black man. I LOVE THIS SONG. Pure Art.

[@erictrenbeath9680]

Man, it is such a beautiful song and few move me as much. I do find myself conflicted when I hear it though. Knowing you love it as well eases that. Peace brother.

[@redfo3009]

I love this song too but I fear if I play it or try playing it in guitar I will be deemed racist 😑 it makes me want to cry how these young men went to battle and never came home. Also the honour to fathers and brothers. I just resonate with the pain and honesty of this song. ❤

[@vickifragale4882]

Levon Helm was kind and unpretentious. What you saw is what you got. An extremely talented man and true artist. There will never be another like him.

[@trple2]

Unlike John Fugelsang

[@jeremyheintz1479]

@@trple2 lol true

[@martinj.hammersmith8512]

Wait, you're saying he's not like the obsessively-conforming narcissists ambling through the Internet looking for a little outrage-fueled attention? The hell you say!

[@TheGeneral1861]

Like most all Southerners.

[@terrywinn2278]

There was no way that anyone from this group wrote this song except Levon.

[@jamesroof6150]

I'm 64 and have loved The Band since High School days 1973-77. Mad respect🙏for the talent of everyone in that special band. Timeless inspiring music.

[@FrazerJones71]

A Canadian musician of Native North American heritage writes a song about the American Civil War, from the perspective of a poor Southern family of the time, and is lambasted years later for writing what some perceive as being an anthem for racists, get real people! This is not pro- either side of that conflict, it is a beautifully constructed snapshot of the effects of that conflict on one family laid out like scenes from a movie. There is a anti-war message in these lyrics that some are choosing to ignore. RIP Robbie , if people had taken the time to read the lyrics properly you would never have needed to explain them.

[@raoulhubris]

That's it. Robertson's songs are individual short stories and he knew how to orchestrate three or four minutes into a deep immersion.

[@shamusa943]

The Band was simply the best in such a short time. Still keeping the hearts alive with their music. All the best for blasting the past to the present.

[@SK-tf4kp]

This song just moves my emotions where I become part of the story. I don’t hear racist words. I just hear a story from an individual post civil war. Robbie did a great job explaining its origin. Nobody sings this better than Levon Helm

[@boddaboom77]

Because there are no racist words in the song.

[@Andrew-bj6ym]

You don't hear racist words because there aren't any. It's a beautiful song. People often get polarized by the north/south dynamic. Most southerners were poor and also hurt by the carpetbaggers using free slave labor to make their products. The south was absolutely destroyed economically from the war. These were regular folks just trying to survive. The humanity of the southern peasants and how they were/are treated is always overlooked.

[@mobydick3895]

My personal opinion is that most of the youths that fought in the Civil war really didn't have that much understanding of what the war is actually about. It seems that this is so often the case in wars.

[@darrellhamner4608]

@@mobydick3895 you're right. Ask German WWII vets, Union vets, Confederate vets and most if they are honest will admit that they fought for their side because that's where they were born and raised. The South did have an additional reason--they were invaded.

[@RustyShakleford01]

There are no racist words to be heard...

[@kelly2558]

For many years of absolutely loving this song I truly believed that someone must have found an old letter from the civil war times written by a rebel soldier Virgil Caine and then set it to music and publish it as a song. It just seemed that authentic. It just never occurred to me it could be a made up story. Over those years, as I have become increasingly more acquainted with The Band as the incredible group of musicians and personalities they are and of Robbie’s songwriting abilities, I have been, and continue to be, blown away by the depth of the creative artistry encapsulated in this song.

[@brucewailes7744]

When you talk about Robbie's songwriting abilities you are also talking about the abilities of Levon, Richard and Garth. Robertson managed to get his name on all the songwriting credits and get all the royalties, but a lot of the writing was done by the other guys. Robertson is kind of a prick.

[@anthonymarcus8841]

Nonsense

[@janebraun4482]

writing by the others guys too?! Then they would have had a case, were that true, no?@@brucewailes7744

[@MrGreglarry]

I wish a journalist would really have dug deep into the words with Robbie. Ask questions like, "Where did the Virgil Caine come from? Why did you come with line "They should have never taken the very best." I'd love to hear a deep dive. It's an extraordinary song.

[@greg7656]

@MrGreglarry I'm not sure Robbie ever acknowledged this, but usually "virgil" is interpreted as an allusion to the poet Virgil who wrote the original war epic The Aeinid, and Caine is a reference to the Biblical brothers Cain and Able. Not literal allusions, of course, but just inspirations. The "very best" line is likely a reference to the North army sweeping through the South and confiscating goods, or perhaps Southern farmers having to work for so little as sharecroppers.

[@83teleboy]

Can’t we just say this is a great, moving song with great vocals and music and leave it at that?

[@jimmieroan9881]

sorry, but most music tells a story, some are love stories some are sad lost love stories, great music has always been done by the story tellers. you just need to pay attention

[@peterrobertson2580]

@83teleboy Amen

[@scotthoskins1875]

One of the greatest songs ever by possibly the most purely talented musicians ever!

[@betsyadams1365]

Watch movie "Cold Mountain" it's about the loss in the South during the civil war. Heart wrenching. Anyway The Band is one of the GREATEST bands of all time.

[@peachesb-georgia1125]

And you did a beautiful job... the song doesn't take sides... points to who was right or wrong... just a story about one family... thank you...

[@peterrobertson2580]

I just don’t understand this as a racist song or one glorifying the South. It’s just a song about a man and his family. Probably too poor to own slaves, he and his brother fought to defend their land and their families, as so many did. His brother never came home. These southern families paid a huge price in that war - culturally, economically, physically, emotionally. It’s just a story about that ... don’t try to overthink it, or force-fit it into something it never had any intention of being. Not everything about the South in the Civil War is a product of the Lost Cause myth or a racist rallying point.

[@EwetoobSucks]

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is Predicated upon the person’s becoming in Every Facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be No Divided Allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American Flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English Language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is a loyalty to the American People.” Theodore Roosevelt 1907

[@myclaytxblet4523]

Thats too rational of a viewpoint for youtube. Go away.

[@sd906238]

The only winners in a war are the bankers. Even the winner is a looser running up huge debt and lose of life. Germany finally paid off it's debt from WWI in 2010. Look a wars though out history and you will see the banks loaned money to both sides during wars. The rich tried to stir things up before wars. William Randolph Hearst stirred things up before the Spanish American war with his newspapers. Just like Abe Lincoln kept poking a hornets nest with a stick (the South) until he gets the war he wanted. He didn't fight the war but the every day Joe did. It is the every day Joe that this song is about. They loose their lives, loved ones, homes and their land. At the end of the war everything they loved or owned has been killed or destroyed.

[@EwetoobSucks]

@@myclaytxblet4523 Aaaaaahhhhhh Ha Ha Ha Ha Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ! 👉 No ! 👉 Bad ! ! 👉 Bad, Dumb Peasant ! 👉 Bad ! ! !

[@EwetoobSucks]

@@sd906238 Correct ! (*Note : Lose, Loser. For Future Reference.)

[@jessejames5813]

Hard to believe a Canadian wrote a southern masterpiece

[@JayJoJonny]

somewhat ironic, eh?

[@MrDrewlips]

he should have written one from the Canadian Indigenous perspective.

[@allthesmallthings1041]

@@MrDrewlips he prolly should’ve haha! Would’ve been great and sad

[@egt72]

@@MrDrewlips could of been about all the free stuff they get

[@MrDrewlips]

@@egt72 like free burials of their stolen children at the local residential school.

[@njd2342]

Great man, great song, great Band. I've played it many times and its one of my favourites. Well written Robbie and well sung Levon!

[@googoogjoobgoogoogjoob]

Every conflict has ordinary people from both sides suffering.

[@yankeegirl3380]

RIP Robbie. I adored this man!!!! So talented!! So well-spoken. And he looked so good and handsome. Robbie, I will miss you. "The Weight" is no longer on you. You're free. GOD bless you and you family and friends. 🙏❤🙏

[@hannejeppesen1809]

I agree I love Robbie, and when he was young he was so good looking, and such charisma. Even in his forties and fifties his smile would light up the room.

[@kylevantassel7259]

You know , I feel bad that we live in a nation where a guy that has written one of the most iconic songs in our history has to sit and pretty much defend himself over writing it. The song accurately accounts for the time and the feeling of the people. This is how they felt and Levon sang this better than anyone in the world could have giving it life and breath . Maybe everyone should look at it this way.... If our politicians do not change the trajectory they are on we will be right back there and Levon and this song will be more relevant than ever....THis isnt the wizard of Oz , you cant click your heels and make our past go away... Who decides what goes away ? Should all of it go away ? Most of it is violent and someone was on the wrong end of it... Gee Wiz , come to think of it. The same can be said for all the other nations around the world , I wonder why the light shines so bring on us ? Robert , regardless of what anyone has to say , you wrote one of the best songs in American history with this and YES , Levon sang it better than anyone ever could...

[@shannon_93]

lol his name isn’t Robert though🤦‍♀️

[@LeslieJayBoschPhoto]

He doesn't have to "sit down and defend himself". He's just being asked a question about what the song means. Jesus Christ, calm down.

[@kylevantassel7259]

@@LeslieJayBoschPhoto And why must I be excited or not calm because I made an accurate statement ? All you lefties are this way... "Calm down Calm Down" , seriously what on the internet should make me less than calm ? Well maybe if it was announced that all leftists had been shipped to Cuba and I won the lotto on the same day. I would get a little worked up then.

[@suzyq6406]

I agree. It’s a beautiful song with no political or racial agenda. It’s a classic that has stood the test of time.

[@kylevantassel7259]

@@rickjackson3631 Oh you are hilarious and you show that you are not all that bright.... Its ok.... We had that pandemic long before this one.... If any adult human being living in this time thinks that any politician is being honest with you and working for you as designed.... Well , you need to be living in California or shack up with ole RIck here....

[@suzyq6406]

Only Levon Helm could do justice to this song! Sang with so much emotion. So much talent in The Band.🎼❤️🎼

[@julianterris]

When I was entering into my first flush of creative output, I knew and understood the value of "a good trip". A song that helps you to see the perspective of your (distant) cousin is valuable. This is the beautiful power of empathy -and it's as important -and valuable as a "cotton blues" This is the rich tableau of American life rendered in colorful song. This song is a treasure. We need to stop editing other people's feelings, simply because they no longer fit out "politically correct" narrative. All songs trace the river of life. It's History! God bless Robbie and The Band for their beautiful portrayal of a dying way of life. It is an artistic achievement we must not lose.

[@zeroh7671]

It’s sad he has to explain himself for writing one of the most iconic songs ever. But fortunately he didn’t seem to capitulate one bit giving his explanation and answer. Respect Robbie .

[@WilliamNEdwardVC]

The only reason he was able to get away with it is because he was a friend to Liberals (Canadian communists) and they begrudgingly let it slide..if they get their way this song will be taken down.

[@jimatyeo]

Thanks Mr. Robertson. I just assumed over the years that song was written by Levon. I also believe no one else can do that song justice the way Levon did, no matter how great the vocalist. So along with all your other gifts, guitarist and composer you have given us an incredible song.

[@JayJoJonny]

It's always amazing for me to learn the genesis of a great song. Somewhat ironic that a song that captures the anguish of the Civil War in the Confederate Capital was conceived and written by a Canadian.

[@brendandunleavy1399]

Anyone who thinks this song is racist really needs to educate themselves,no way the Band would have anything to do with to that,their musical peers came from all over the world and especially from Black African American blues musicians and guitarists. RIP Robbie

[@AP-gb3eh]

Such a loss. He was a great artist and a good man telling us stories of life ❤

[@jameslouder]

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" isn't a paen to The Lost Cause--it's about the pain of losing. The song is tragic, not faux-triumphant. Ulysses S. Grant himself said, "Never did men fight so valiantly for a worse cause."--and the narrator's brother, killed by a Yankee bullet at the age of 18, was one of those men. By all means, pull down the statues of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson that were put up by Klansmen in the 1920s. But Confederate war graves are places sacred to the tragedy of war--all war. And The Band's great song honours that, nothing else. (August 9, 2023 -- R.I. P. Robbie Robertson)

[@aaronrice4607]

Thank you for posting this. Very interesting and thought provoking.

[@hydra8845]

A lot of those statues were before the 1920s. The Klan of the 1920s was mostly a Northern movement

[@heyandre1]

"you can't raise a Cain up when he's in defeat". When you humiliate someone, you've lost him.

[@mikelisacarb]

Thank you for clarifying this. You speak the truth!

[@bobdebuilder7469]

Rest in peace my friend. Great musician and even better person.

[@homefront3162]

I FRIGGIN love that song

[@user-fc1nq1je9x]

Great song by a great writer..Rip Robbie and God bless dixie..🙏🎸

[@williamstafford8951]

If you know anything about Robbie and Levon The whole Band You know they revered Black Artists and their music. This amazing heart breaking song couldn't possibly be racist.

[@robertkraljii5048]

A very brilliant, inspired piece of art .

[@kenbranaugh8251]

That's an American classic. Had no idea it was Robbie's . Beautiful man.

[@shakeAbooty88]

Enlightening description. I'm a writer and that's how it goes. Quite often songs are stories and of those stories many are fictional descriptions of something that you know, through the people you've met, are true.

[@wickedgrin13]

Thank you Robbie with all my heart for this beautiful song. I was raised on this, this is my heritage, and I grew up in a Virginia town ravished by Stoneman's cavalry. For the horror, grandeur, and heartbreak in those days from so many sides, your song spoke for and to many white southerners who had nothing to do with the evil of slavery, and their descendants. Our beloved South is a better world now for all of us, and we will remember the good parts of our history as well as be informed by the bad. Probably a little too nuanced for a pretentious twit like Fuglsang who had to present his question as an indirect condescension.

[@templekeyser4009]

Couldn’t agree more all my ancestors joined the confederacy, one was even asked to lead the union, this song to me is like a defeat song but a song that created hope and reminds us of How much the war effected the lives of us southerners

[@1917VIL]

@@templekeyser4009 your heritage? To hell with the confederacy, and %uck your sheetty ancestors, may they burn in hell for fighting to maintain slavery

[@peterpetrosius]

Stonewall….😂 Stonewall Jackson

[@peterpetrosius]

Not stoneman

[@peterpetrosius]

😂

[@karranz]

The dream team (band): Robbie, Levon, Rick, Richard and Gart Hudson. I can hear every song they made focusing on a particular member and say "is amazing", how about all them playing tougher? the name of the band fits perfectly, it's is not just a band, it's "The Band" and hangs down they were the best.

[@ardalla535]

Robbie doesn't mention this, but there are details in that song that he would not have known unless he researched the history of the time. Especially, a Canadian would not have known who General Stoneman was, and would never have heard of Danville Virginia or that there was a major railroad that ran through that town.

[@hannejeppesen1809]

Robbie went to the library and did some research, having read a lot about The Band and it's members, and I love them all, they were all very talented, but fact is Robbie was more curious and intellectual than the other members, save for Garth, who were more interested in getting stoned, on whatever they could, cocaine, heroin etc. Don't get me wrong Robbie did drugs too, but the music always came first for him and he stayed away from heroin. He also had a wife and small children that kept him grounded.

[@Oldschooldan1]

Or the fact that Richmond fell in early April, but it wasn't until May the 10th that Jefferson Davis was captured in GA.

[@arte4arte]

Like many works of fiction, Robertson created a character, Virgil Cain, and told the story through that character's voice. This does not mean that he neccesarily holds the same thoughts or beliefs as that fictional character, rather. Cain is a representation of a person who might have lived during the Civil War era...and speak as someone who might have gone through the war..and as a result felt a certain way.. The story in the song unfolds like a movie. ..it makes you empathize with the protagonist....Hell, I hate everything that the South represents, but the song still makes me cry...it's brilliant.

[@pmcclaren1]

spoken like the damnyankee you are!

[@tenniswilliam]

He wrote a beautiful song about an American tragedy. A tragedy that could well have been avoided with better leadership in the time before it happened. The same with the wars and conflicts we have today and all the suffering it brings could have been avoided. Robbie is correct to underscore how this brings misery and despair to the little guy who you perceive as your adversary. Unfortunately powerful elites tend to be arrogant and blind to the harm they create when they refuse to solve problems

[@Gcssdvnkloiutesc]

You think all war and conflict could be avoided? And blame it all on the “elites”? Think the world is more complex than that my friend

[@tenniswilliam]

@@Gcssdvnkloiutesc i did not say all war can be avoided - i am saying more efforts to resolve war and conflict is needed. Note that Lester B. Pearson a Canadian Prime Minister in the sixties won a peace prize for resolving a middle east war by mediation. The UN peacekeeping forces also came out of that effort. This concept is lost on modern leaders.

[@Gcssdvnkloiutesc]

@@tenniswilliam lol so because one generation of leaders resolves a crisis without war, you attribute that to will and not the natural order of things which is stretches of peace and stretches of war.

[@tenniswilliam]

@@Gcssdvnkloiutesc Pearson is one example of leadership. I am saying we need more leaders to follow that example and try harder to resolve conflicts without military action

[@DegenerateNerd]

It was a great song, still is. And Levon could tell it like no other. I appreciate Robbie, he's a very underrated guitarist and song writer.

[@davidmonroe4780]

He's a mediocre guitarist, but a great songwriter.

[@jimduggan8382]

@@davidmonroe4780 mediocre guitarist is not how you sum up one of the undisputed greatest guitarists of his generation

[@davidmonroe4780]

@@jimduggan8382 Robbie Robertson? You need exposure to more guitarists.

[@BlackGuardXIII]

@@davidmonroe4780Clapton seemed to think he wasn’t too bad, even joked about wanting to join the band as a rhythm guitar player.

[@bostonbruinsfan247]

I used to chat with Robbie's son. I miss that quite a bit.

[@davidparker5051]

Robbie is awesome. John is awesome. What a great clip.

[@spb7883]

That this is even in question is very telling on two levels. 1) It shows how Americans are generally unable to detach themselves from their entertainment, to think critically about the craft behind (in this case) the songwriting. 2) That we are such a warlike people that we can’t see the humanity in our enemies.

[@janebraun4482]

Sad and true.

[@mikekisonu6825]

Couldn’t ask for a better explanation. ‘Nuff said. 🙂

[@richardtaylor6341]

That phrase, "the south is gonna rise again", has often been misconstrued to mean that we would rebel again. But in our hearts and minds it meant that we would rise back up to our former glory, riches, and leisurely way of life.

[@raymondhummel5211]

Such an interesti8ng talk by Robbie. I am sure his song is a classic, loved by people around the world!. Such wonderful descriptive story lyrics and well thought out music.

[@lee4171]

As an Englishman who has written a PhD on U.S. Southern History. I will take Southern folk any day. Regardless of their colour.

[@oppothumbs1]

The idea was Levon's, but he's dead, and can't explain it now. All Robbie knows is the road and he expounds on that topic to no end in The Last Waltz. Black music is great but Bo Diddley played the same song over and over.

[@glengamble526]

It’s about a character. Period. A historical character, from a historical perspective and period. The FIRST LYRIC IN THE SONG establishes this ‘Virgil Cane is the name’. It doesn’t necessarily espouse Robbie’s views. And if we cancel history, we’ve learned nothing.

[@bigshowradio_550]

Many comments that Levon can't be beat singing this song. True, people love the original artist over any other, however, I love to hear folks cover these great songs. Good job Buddy! Not only does it keep them alive for a newer generation, it might bring out the sleuth in some to look up the history and the original. Oh Canada... they've given us so much beautiful music.

[@MrDavidrex]

Robbie 🙏🏼❤️

[@Charlie-zt3ug]

This is the tragedy of woke revisionism applied to every form of art. Robbie Robertson wasn’t writing a song to extoll the cause of the Confederacy. It’s about the victims of a war that laid waste to Southern Cities and countryside and the poor inhabitants black and white. who survived the bloodiest war up to that date in history. It began as a traditional set piece war with single shot rifles and regiments walking into battle in close formation , but ended as the first truly industrialized total war where civilians were on the front line. The economy of the South did not catch up with the North until WW 2. The poor whites in the South who did the brunt of the fighting and dying followed the obligarchs of the day into the abyss and were stripped of the resources to compete with the Northern states for decades. If a lament to the struggles of poor men and women of that era cannot be sung today due to the radicals’ pitiless hegemony over American history they will inevitably lead today’s poor and powerless into the next abyss of their own making.

[@kmac1766]

A beautiful song about loss, losing and the end of the line. And as a Northerner, it always struck me as a confession of sorts.

[@gearoiddom]

It’s a lament at loss both general and personal. Not sure what lyrics are suggesting confession for you.

[@Leisurelee53]

Confession? Jesus. Im PNW and the sadomasochism NEers have about the Civil War is just nauseating. You were not moral crusaders. They were not mustache twirling whip crackers. It was a bloody, muddy, horrific chapter of our story that destroyed generations. You're not owed a confession, kiddo. This was a story about pain and loss. No right or wrong about it.

[@mickeystanic4750]

"confession" ?!?

[@pmcclaren1]

confession I am sure you mean 'pardon' which was required to enter back into the yankee union. You people need pardoning for MURDERING (in this illegal war) over 1/2 million SOUTHERNERS! Shut the hell up!

[@scottbivins4051]

I love that song so much!

[@allangow4746]

This song was a big hit for Joan Baez in the UK, when I first heard it, the idea that everything was going wrong for the south and the desperation of the story teller was evident in Miss Baez's rendition. This is a true classic, there is nothing wrong in a story of the the loss of life and love.

[@VILJL]

Robbie Robertson, five-time Grammy nominee and celebrated songwriter, singer, guitarist and film composer has died at the age of 80. Robertson's management company said the guitarist, singer and songwriter died Wednesday August 9, 2023 in Los Angeles after a long illness. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Robertson had roots in both the Mohawk community at the Six Nations Reserve, as well as the Jewish enclave of his home city’s downtown. Robertson wrote a lot of the Band’s best known songs, like “The Weight,” “Up On Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Martin Scorsese filmed and directed the Band's 1976 farewell concert “The Last Waltz” and after that, starting in 1980, Robertson worked as a composer on some of Scorsese’s films, like “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Departed,” “Shutter Island,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Silence” and “The Irishman.” The Band is in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The National Academy of Songwriters awarded Robertson a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.

[@fastsetinthewest]

R.I.P. Robertson, 8/09/2023. My gg grandfather fought for Tennessee at Chickamauga and was captured by Sherman forces near Macon, Georgia. He never owned slaves. He fought for "States Rights" to govern themselves. One can't project their feelings of those back in time. From a drafted, disabled, and Republic of Vietnam combat vet '68. Look at us Vietnam vets when we got back and how this country treated us. Hahahaha. This USA country has few logical thinkers.

[@madpuppie59]

Deo Vindice My GG Grandfather fought For South carolina And the confederacy, He lost his leg at gettysburg, Never owned a slave. I am Proud Southerner American first. Check out Dobie grays verson of this song

[@XxStratAttackxX]

That is one of my favorite songs that John Denver covered.

[@shawnbruce6934]

I Love Robbie.

[@southernstorm2321]

Many people who never owned slaves suffered in the civil war. It was also about more than just slavery.

[@KMarik]

True, but it was mostly about slavery.

[@jmass5083]

Bo Diddley is one of the best....pills a great song.

[@joeharris3878]

Bo Diddly was and is the coolest rocker to ever live.

[@janefriel6895]

Love him.☘

[@edgarsnake2857]

I saw The Band perform this song numerous times as they were rising to fame. No one thought this was about race. It was about war and the sadness of being poor and on the losing side. To me, this is one of the greatest American songs...and written by a Canadian!

[@John-gc6yb]

Robbie, explain art to the people at home.

[@lastnamefirst4035]

Yeah bc we are too stupid to understand for ourselves

[@trple2]

Robbie, give a fake answer to the real feelings behind this song or i will encourage people to yell at you

[@leriwaters.9744]

...and you were wright! Levon sang it better than anybody

[@billwhite9703]

Great interview. The real story.

[@leonardbertaux6897]

What a great song about a hopelessly lost cause. One fact Robbie missed in the song was the date Richmond VA fell to the Union, the correct date was April 3 I believe.

[@2A372C]

I've been so disappointed the last 15-20 years with the availability of information that people seem to be less and less informed about the Civil War and that people on both sides were conscripted (drafted) to fight and ultimately die for ideals and causes that really weren't their own necessarily. The South for example didn't even have a professional army like the north did when the war kicked off and the north was still trying to occupy and blockade the south after the split. It's also important to note that the north didn't treat the south well before or after the war and that the sentiment surrounding Lincoln soured even more after the war ultimately leading to his assassination. The stories are all there if you simply look for them.

[@musiclover1958]

And the fact that the was was started by a murderous psychopath, John Brown

[@stevemadison7895]

Johnny Reb was my ancestor. He never owned a slave. Never even knew a slave owner. He was fighting to save his 5 acres, his cow, two pigs, a dozen chickens and his wife and babies. Our family story is that the Union took them all away and left Johnny alone. He told his story to everyone that would listen all his life. Now it's my turn to pass it on.

[@boba3731]

each of the 13 confed states stated in their secession declarations that they will fight for the preservation of slavery. If he could read, he followed that right to own slaves......

[@garymorris1856]

@@boba3731 No one alive is this nation ever owned a slave, and no one alive was a slave., so I will not be preached to.zi need no history lessons from you

[@bookpaper105]

hell yeah boy you know them black boys there only cost a couple pennies on the dollar every family got bought 5 or 6 of em

[@garymorris1856]

@@bookpaper105 No matter the discussion, some stupid asshole, (like you), has to make EVERYTHING about race. It never fails, who are you, Joy Reid or Kamala Harris?

[@musiclover1958]

@@bookpaper105 Not true. Slaves were expensive to own. The only people with slaves pretty much were the wealthy class. Most of the south’s farmers were small farmers, like the people you meet at farmers markets today who do all their own labor.

[@NYNYTVNYC]

What insight....a great heart that he realizes this issue in history again in May & June 2020.....I saw the Band in 1978 on Rt. 17 North in NJ.... What a great song and fond memories.... How fast 50 years goes by....In the north we felt naive and past this type of racism...at least for the most part....

[@maximusmillion744]

How could you have seen The Band in 1978 when their last concert was the Last Waltz 1976?

[@IronGolem2009]

@@maximusmillion744 they “reunited” w/o Robbie and a few other changes

[@KatShotz]

First I saw was in a small town called Yehaw Junction. I went to the bathroom and saw that on the doors and on water fountains. I was blown away.

[@KatShotz]

In Florida outside Tampa, Fl

[@carnahangreen1391]

The interviewer was about to burst with virtue signalling. Good on Robbie for shutting that down.

[@jeremyheintz1479]

The host does that a lot. Lol

[@ricardobimblesticks1489]

Accusing someone of virtue signalling is by its very nature a type of virtue signalling ;)

[@6000cs]

This interviewer mentions "symbols that tend to glorify the Confederacy." That type of egghead Northeast dialog typifies how shallow they are toward understanding generations of Southerners since the Civil War. The song is a tale of hardship, woe, sorrow, and loss. There is no glorification anywhere.

[@reredrumuoy]

You're right about this song not glorifying anything. But there is without a doubt, an unhealthy glorification of the civil war from the South. Some southerners refer to the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression. That is delusional.

[@davidmurray1361]

@Rere Nothing delusional about it. The South peacefully seceded from the Union. The North invaded them, subjugated them, and forced them into their "union." That is by definition a war of aggression. And that's no Union by the way. No more than the man who pistol-whips his wife to force her to stay with him can claim he has a valid marriage.

[@reredrumuoy]

@@davidmurray1361 Southern militias attacked federal munition depots. Way before fort Sumpter. They were definitely the aggressors. The South had no right to secceede. They still had American citizens in their "country" Licoln was obligated.

[@reredrumuoy]

@@davidmurray1361 The South is basically a wife who is trying to take half of the husbands property in divorce.

[@reredrumuoy]

@@davidmurray1361 This delusional Lost Cause garbage is just as problematic as anything coming from the radical left. We cant make progress if we arent willing to accept the truth.

[@bruce8321]

Another Toronto great in Robbie.

[@larrymondello8475]

Thank you

[@owenhill-ring555]

I love Levon Helm and he’s my personal favourite member of the band, but I feel like his talent undermines the fact that Robbie wrote some of the greatest songs of all time.

[@timeckel9611]

I found this because I was looking things up when I just read an article about someone changing the lyrics to make this song more ‘fitting’ for today’s standards. Absolutely ridiculous, either sing the real song or don’t sing it at all.

[@sweetaudrina_]

Omg me too! I love The Band and I love this song. I am so annoyed by that person changing it. This song is beautiful and tells a story.

[@Trafficcream]

Same here. The audacity to think you could change the lyrics to such a classic song. Absurd.

[@boddaboom77]

"progressives" ruin absolutely everything they come in contact with.

[@artdeco5464]

@@Trafficcream well then you can imagine how Leonard Cohen felt when Christian musicians turned Hallelujah into a Christmas Carol (just one of their desecrations of the song)

[@michaelanstis5668]

@@artdeco5464 I think your analogy is stupid

[@brianwhite1189]

How the pain and emotions of a Southern family during the Civil War is captured so well by a young guy from Canada is truly incredible.

[@Svlli1983]

He's calmed down. I kinda like him now lol I've always loved The Bands music though

[@richardnorris2505]

I'm a proud Son of the South. I would hope y'all would see from the perspective of "Heritage not Hate." My people never owned slaves, and I am thoroughly disgusted by the thought of it. We seldom tear down Yankee statues or call them racists.

[@rtuckertow]

That there even needed to be a conversation like this about a 50 year old song is ridiculous.

[@Bumper776]

Exactly!!!

[@sarahcorrigan8059]

I'm 53 and grew up in the UK with this song from John Denver, I assumed until ... well today, that the song was from nearer the time it talks of. I had no idea of its origin or that I am older than the song ... I just learned that there are losers on both sides ... its a bloody good song 🎵 👌

[@dianesingerline4981]

He did sing it better than anyone else in the world!

[@joefitzpatrick7563]

In America of what i call its white people are evil stage even a song that even hints that there was some humanity in the south of the Civil War will be condemned

[@dianesingerline4981]

@@joefitzpatrick7563 With all due respect to you, The Band was bringing awareness to this devastating historical event. Neil Young"s song Sothern Man, also pays tribute.

[@jukesters123]

RIP Robbie. Your always ours.

[@Caperhere]

🎶I believe the south is gonna rise again Though not the way we thought it would back then I mean everybody hand in hand I believe the south is gonna rise again🎶Tanya Tucker.

[@yesterdayproductions1019]

The song is about the horrors of War. The War was fought over money & power like all wars. Northern yankee soldiers were definitely NOT dying on the battlefield for black people in the South they didn't know or care about in the least. Anyone who thinks the entire Civil war was some kind of "moral" conflict is a naive idiot.

[@joancarlson1884]

My favorite...R.I.P.:(

[@mikegan73]

It's a great song.

[@IsisMusic]

The song just tells the story from the southern perspective

[@KMarik]

It’s a song about the sorrows of war.

[@IsisMusic]

@@KMarik True

[@jnj2195]

I seriously can't believe this beta interviewer asked this. This is one of the greatest songs in history. It illustrates the struggles of a broken down farmer in a war torn south. Nothing more nothing less. But ya know, racism.

[@thomashall6391]

I don't hear slavery mentioned once in it. Most southerners were not slave owners. As Lee said, who had a prestigious career in the U. S. military before the war, including commandant at West Point, offered command of the entire U. S. Military, he could never take up arms against his home state of Virginia. We so often misunderstand this war, the men, friendships on opposite sides, the many reasons, times, issues that go back long before the Civil War. Rebels, rebelling against what? You can't rebel against slavery and be for it. Shelby Foote was one of the few historians that I ever heard that understood it. There was pride and tragedy on both sides. It's just a song about such from one point of view. The tragedy it caused which should never be forgotten. Yet also the birth of a new nation.

[@ownpetard8379]

Firstly, the song says "the bells were ringing" and "the people were singing" so there is no way this song glorifies the South. I was surprised when I heard the enthusiasm for Joan Baez' version at a University of Georgia campus concert. Obviously Baez understood what the song was about. Secondly etc., the secession documents that the various states wrote heavily mentioned the threat of the end of slavery as a reason to secede. These, I think, was to gain the support of the planter class - who sold their cotton overseas - to support the war. They planters were free traders and internationalists, while Lincoln was in the pocket of tariff loving protectionists. Lincoln met with them in New York remember? As to tariffs, it was not until the late 1960s/early 1970s that the US rail tariff (a different kind of tariff, but still) for goods shipped from the South was the same as for goods shipped into the South. But the basis of act of secession was that 1. the states formed the US Constitution, and therefore they could leave it. They did that to the Articles of Confederation which has a Perpetual Union clause. Hell, they abandoned the Articles while meeting on the dime of the Confederation to formulate changes to the Articles. (!) Much else could be said, but think about why Jefferson Davis and other prominent secessionists were never brought to trial. The winners knew that could lose. I could state that more strongly, but that is enough. "Rebel" is a Yankee term. The University of Mississippi has "Rebels" as its mascot/designation. Utmost silliness unless it is an attempt to make an unpopular statement. To be proud of the term "rebel" to describe the Southern Cause is beyond insulting.

[@davidstout4022]

"But they should not have taken the very best" To me, that always just meant the self pride of the average southerner. Whom would not have come from money or a family that owned slaves. I think this day in age, everyone wants to make something out of nothing. It was just a good song with a good story.

[@scottallen6133]

A great Canadian band.

[@gracebell3495]

no one will ever live up to levons 'the last waltz' performance of 'the night they drove old dixie down'

[@sallyvitale7213]

I've been listening to The Band since I was 12 years old and this music never gets old.

[@gracebell3495]

@@sallyvitale7213 im only 17, but my dad was good enough to enrich me with this music and it warms my heart, cant wait to sing it to my kids

[@hannejeppesen1809]

No one will live of to a lot of the performance from the Last Waltz, I agree about Levon, don't leave out Rich and his souful rendition of "It makes no difference", or"Further up the Road" with Eric Clapton and Robbie getting into a guitar duel, all in good fun.

[@billfickle2844]

Btw, the song was covered by Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. They're not racist they're singing a great song telling the story about life and himan experience.

[@madpuppie59]

Dobie Gray as welll kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYS8paR_ZbWEgrs

[@capn82]

I’ve always felt the song was critical of the confederacy at every turn. The money is no good, starvation, chopping wood, destruction of infrastructure, family members lost. I’ve thought it just kinda showed a little off what average people dealt with after they “drove ole Dixie” down.