The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is a song written by Robbie Robertson. It was originally recorded by his Canadian-American roots rock group the Band and released on their eponymous second album in 1969. Levon Helm provided the lead vocals. The song is a first-person narrative relating the economic and social distress experienced by the protagonist, a poor white Southerner, during the last year of the American Civil War.

"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" was ranked number 245 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. The song is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" and in Time magazine's All-Time 100.

Joan Baez's version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 on October 2, 1971; it did likewise on the Cashbox Top 100 chart. On the Record World Top Singles chart for the week of September 25, 1971, the Baez single hit No. 1 for one week.