C am c/g f f/e dm
Virgil caine is the name, and i served on the danville train,
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'til stoneman's cavalry came and tore up the tracks again.
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In the winter of '65, we were hungry, just barely alive.
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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,
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Back with my wife in tennessee, when one day she called to me,
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"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)
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Like my father before me, i will work the land,
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Like my brother above me, who took a rebel stand.
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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.