Perhaps. But I will say this with certainty. Joan Baez in her prime was easier on the eyes than any of those ruffians from The Band. 🙂
Posted on 11/27/2023 6:08:31 PM PST by Pol-92064
The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down.
And all the people were singing!
Here’s a bit of trivia. In the original lyrics, one line goes:
“Till Stoneman’s cavalry came and tore up the tracks again”
(George Stoneman was a Union Calvary general.)
But Joan Baez misunderstood the line, and instead sang:
“Till so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again”
I kinda like the misunderstood version better.
Aw, crap. Autocorrect strikes again. In my post #3 it should read:
(George Stoneman was a Union cavalry general.)
I don’t think Gen. Stoneman ever fought in Jerusalem!
2025, not 2024.
Joan’s version of this song is what I expect whenever I hear the title. She sang the hell out of it, was at the height of her vocal powers.
Just as Sinead O’Conner’s version of Nothing Compares 2 U became far better known that any other version, (whether songwriter Prince was jealous of her success or not!) Joan Baez took ownership of Dixie, when she sang it.
Nope. Not even close
https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=last+waltz+the+night+they+drove+old+dixie+down+
Like most artists, she's a liberal nut case, but her music is never-the-less, sweet (as Tupelo honey).
But this song is confusing to me. After the war is over, there are these words:
Back with my wife in Tennessee
When one day she called to me
“Virgil, quick, come see,
There goes Robert E. Lee!”
Robert E Lee was never in Tennessee during or after the war. This must be a reference to the passenger river boat on the Mississippi, the Robert E. Lee. This is the steamboat that won the famous race with the Natchez. It launched in 1866.
But the lyrics don’t say “there goes the Robert E. Lee.” The lyrics say there goes Robert E. Lee, like it was the man. So which is it? The man or the riverboat?
It was referring to the riverboat.
The only version worth listening to is the one by The Band!
Everything else is a pathetic copy.
How do you know?
Tremelo. So that is the correct term. For some, it’s an acquired appreciation, but I’ve always enjoyed that vocal technique when done well.
Joni Mitchell also specialized in using that skill, especially in her early and mid career, before her voice began to toughen from age and chain smoking around 1985.
Johnny Mathis, same story of tremelo, when he was younger and in full voice.
The three J’s.
The one by The Band with Levon Helm is the greatest version by far. By Far! He sounds like Virgil Caine himself with all of the emotions attached. Joan Baez sounds like a Yankee who was gloating over the defeat of the South—especially in the “Na, na, na” part.
The Band > Joan Baez
There are different versions of the lyrics — some with, some without “the.” Maybe Canadian Robbie Robertson didn’t know about the Civil War details and some of the singers did.
No, it’s vibrato. Vibrato is variation in pitch while tremolo is variation in volume.
Perhaps. But I will say this with certainty. Joan Baez in her prime was easier on the eyes than any of those ruffians from The Band. 🙂
The one by The Band with Levon Helm is the greatest version by far. By Far! He sounds like Virgil Caine himself with all of the emotions attached. Joan Baez sounds like a Yankee who was gloating over the defeat of the South—especially in the “Na, na, na” part.
The Band > Joan Baez
I posted it in post 7
Robbie relied on Arkansan Levon who did not get credit. I posted it in #7.
Because I heard it broken down on FM radio sometime when I was in college in 1980-81.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.