I didn't pay close attention to this song until just now. What a great song!
-Joe Offer-

Let the Band Play Dixie
(Bob Gibson and Dave North)

The news was run from Richmond in that fading April sun,
That Lee had handed Grant his sword, the war was finally won;
Into the streets the people spilled,
Feeling the excitement build;
And the crowd around the White House milled,
Asking, "Is it true, it's finally done?"

Inside the White House, Lincoln heard them calling out his name;
He sat there, wondering what to say to ease their years of pain.
Someone yelled, "Come out the door
And tell us what you've got in store
For the rebels who have lost the war!"
So, out upon the porch, Abe Lincoln came.

He said, "We are gathered not in anger, but in celebration.
Let's be grateful we are once again a single nation.
Let's stand together reassured,
Now that peace has been secured
Our nation's illness can be cured
And I suggest the overture for this occasion."

He said, "Let the band play 'Dixie,'
Play that tune that holds its head up high and proud,
And let our nation, once divided, bloody but unbowed,
Take the swords of war and beat them back into a plow."
On the day that Lee surrendered, Mr. Lincoln told the crowd,
"Let the band play 'Dixie.'"


The tired Union soldier hobbled on his only limb,
Filled with bitter memories the war had left with him;
He dragged his wooden leg and came,
His face was set and creased with pain,
He stumbled, fell, and rose again,
And wondered what the future held for him.

He spied a black child kneeling there in humble gratitude;
He knelt down right beside her, to share her thankful mood;
Grateful words were raised in prayer,
"God, in your sweet loving care,
Our broken lives now please repair,
Let our wounded nation be renewed."

"And let the band play 'Dixie,'
Play that tune that holds its head up high and proud,
And let our nation, once divided, bloody but unbowed,
Take the swords of war and beat them back into a plow."
On the day that Lee surrendered, Mr. Lincoln told the crowd,
"Let the band play 'Dixie.'"
"Let the band play 'Dixie.'"

transcribed by ear from the CD of the 1985 recording, Best of Friends, by Tom Paxton, Anne Hills, and Bob Gibson

Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated April 14.
-Joe Offer-