C am c/g f f/e dm
Virgil caine is the name, and I served on the danville train,
Am c/g f f/e dm
’til stoneman’s cavalry came and tore up the tracks again.
Am/e f c dm
In the winter of ’65, we were hungry, just barely alive.
Am/e f c dm d
By may the tenth, richmond had fell, 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’. they went
C/g am gsus4 f c
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,
Am c f f/e dm
Back with my wife in tennessee, when one day she called to me,
Am c f f/e dm
Virgil, quick, come see, there goes robert e. lee!
Am/e f c dm
Now I don’t mind choppin’ wood, and I don’t care if the money’s no good.
Am/e f
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest,
C dm d
But they should never have taken the very best. (chorus)
Am c f f/e dm
Like my father before me, I will work the land,
Am c f f/e dm
Like my brother above me, who took a rebel stand.
Am/e f c dm
He was just eighteen, proud and brave, but a yankee laid him in his grave,
Am/e f
I swear by the mud below my feet,
C dm d
You can’t raise a caine back up when he’s in defeat.