If we can get rid of you too then count me in. :-)
Robbie Robertson wrote the song and is/was performed by The Band.
Robbie and The Band were/are Canadian, the lead vocals were done by Levon Helm, the only American in the group.
Joan Baez's version was copied from these guys and when asked why her words are different, she replied, I sang it as I heard it.
George Stoneman, (the calvary leader, from NY, who tore up the RR tracks) went on to become the 15th governor of California.
(Just a little , FYI)