"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by The Band Quiz

Answer: the Danville train

The Danville was a supply train on the Richmond and Danville Railroad, which was the main supply route into Petersburg. General Lee's army was stationed in Petersburg to protect Richmond.

Answer: Stoneman's cavalry

General Stoneman's cavalry looted and destroyed tons of supplies, as well as miles of railroad tracks. The words "so much cavalry" were sung by Joan Baez instead of the correct words, which were "Stoneman's cavalry".

Answer: it had fallen

"By May the tenth, Richmond had fell, it's a time I remember, oh so well,"

May tenth was not literally the date that Richmond fell. The town was abandoned by Confederates on April second and it was occupied by the Union Army on April third. However, there are many reasons why May tenth was significant, and therefore why that date may have been chosen for the lyrics. Former Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured on May tenth, near Irwinville, Georgia. President Andrew Johnson announced on May tenth that armed resistance in the southern states was over. Various Confederate forces surrendered from April third until May tenth.

Answer: if the money's no good

One interpretation of this line is that the money was no good because the wages were very poor. Another interpretation is that the money was no good because Confederate dollars were worthless.

Answer: eighteen

During the Civil War, men from seventeen to fifty years of age were eligible to serve in the army. The Confederate Congress changed the law in 1864.

Answer: a Yankee laid him in his grave

The answer can be found in the verse:
"He was just eighteen, proud and brave, but a Yankee laid him in his grave."
Starvation, although not the answer to the question, was a real possibility, as shown in the lyrics "in the winter of '65, we were hungry - just barely alive."
Lee's troops were starving during the last part of the seige, which last from June 1864 until April 1865.

Answer: mud

Although many people, including myself, thought the word in the lyrics was "blood", which would have fit quite well, the original word in the lyrics was "mud". The "mud" vs. "blood" question has created a lot of debate over the years. See Peter Viney's article on The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", and his references to the debate in the guestbook on The Band's website, to learn more.

Unfortunately, The Band's guestbook was closed down in 2003, so Peter Viney's research is the easiest way to access the debate.

Answer: Robbie Robertson

It took Robbie Robertson eight months to write the lyrics to "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". The idea came to him when he was visiting the southern United States, and he heard old men saying, "One day the South will rise again."

Answer: Canadian

Robbie Robertson is half Mohawk Indian and half Jewish-Canadian.

Answer: Joan Baez

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was her biggest hit.
Joan Baez changed the original lyrics in a number of ways. I'll give you two of the places where she changed the lyrics. She sang, "Virgil Caine is my name" instead of "Virgil Caine is the name". Also,she sang, "I took the train to Richmond that fell" instead of "By May the tenth, Richmond had fell,".
Joan Baez later revealed that she had learned the song by listening to the recording by The Band, but that she'd never seen the written lyrics until after she'd recorded the song. Therefore, there are parts of the song that Joan Baez misheard and then incorporated into her recording. In her concerts in later years, Joan Baez sang the correct lyrics.