# Surprising Facts About the Song 'Dixie'. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2016, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964 "2016-02-24T10:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/1 "2016-02-24T10:18:04Z")
Some years back, I saw this country singer do a tender, doleful rendition of _Dixie_, at a concert. It might have been at political event, it’s been so long, I don’t even remember. (I don’t even remember performers name. It was around the 1988 presidential election [for those of you old enough to remember that]. So a lot has happened, since then.) Anyways, the performer actually made a surprising mistake, of sorts at least. He treated the song like it was a tender, patriotic song for the South. Actually, it was originally a minstrel song, performed by people in black face. Yes, it is kind of racist. And it was always played in fast, comical fashion. It was for this reason, it was Abraham Lincoln’s favorite song, in fact (he probably had depression, you know). Anyways, as I just pointed out, it was meant to be funny, not tender and solemn. So it really has very little to do with Southern pride. Also interesting, the song’s creator supported the North, during the Civil War. Anyone else have any interesting tidbits about this song, or any other from the Civil War, for that matter? I love it when the irony of these things is suddenly revealed. :):)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/2 "2016-02-24T12:11:36Z")
Link to original lyrics on the Mudcat cafe [here](http://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=1597). ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/3 "2016-02-24T13:22:27Z")
I think there is an incident right after the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln told an audience he was very fond of the song “Dixie”. He said he had talked it over with General Grant and since Lee had surrendered at Appamattox that the Union now had possession of “Dixie” as a spoil of war. So Lincoln had the band play it. On Civil War songs William Sherman grew to hate “Marching Through Georgia” that was always played in his presence. Grant once said he only knew two songs: one was “Yankee Doodle” and the other one wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/4 "2016-02-24T13:26:18Z")
I wish I was in Dixie. Or her sister, Loretta, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/5 "2016-02-24T16:50:56Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > I think there is an incident right after the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln told an audience he was very fond of the song “Dixie”. He said he had talked it over with General Grant and since Lee had surrendered at Appamattox that the Union now had possession of “Dixie” as a spoil of war. So Lincoln had the band play it. > > On Civil War songs William Sherman grew to hate “Marching Through Georgia” that was always played in his presence. Grant once said he only knew two songs: one was “Yankee Doodle” and the other one wasn’t. President Carter used to wince when a band “honored” him by playing “Marching Through Georgia”. Apparently most band are unaware of its history. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/6 "2016-02-24T18:14:20Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > President Carter used to wince when a band “honored” him by playing “Marching Through Georgia”. Apparently most band are unaware of its history. I remember when the Marine Band decided to play “The Liberty Bell” at Bill Clinton’s inauguration, unaware of [its most famous use](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Dd0EaEbqg) (you’ll pick it up in ten seconds). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/7 "2016-02-24T18:20:14Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I remember when the Marine Band decided to play “The Liberty Bell” at Bill Clinton’s inauguration, unaware of [its most famous use](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Dd0EaEbqg) (you’ll pick it up in ten seconds). Maybe they were considering what the definition of “it’s” is. ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/8 "2016-02-24T19:34:07Z")
I don’t get it about the Liberty Bell March. Dixie’s composer was from Ohio, not a southerner. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/9 "2016-02-24T19:56:22Z")
> [@svd678](#): > > I don’t get it about the Liberty Bell March. Perhaps seeing it played with the well known graphics will help: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rutX0I6NxU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rutX0I6NxU) ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/10 "2016-02-24T20:06:54Z")
I know Sousa better than Monty Python. But I did wonder whether Bennie Hill had used it in a sketch\*?\* ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/11 "2016-02-24T20:53:11Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > President Carter used to wince when a band “honored” him by playing “Marching Through Georgia”. Apparently most band are unaware of its history. Not only that, but when he was a Cadet at Annapolis the upperclassmen tried to get him to sing it-- which is about like getting someone who is Jewish to sing the Horst Wessel Song. Carter asked, “Don’t they know that ‘Marching Through Georgia’ is NOT a Southern song?” And he never did sing it. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/12 "2016-02-24T20:58:20Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Anyways, the performer actually made a surprising mistake, of sorts at least. He treated the song like it was a tender, patriotic song for the South. Actually, it was originally a minstrel song, performed by people in black face. I would dispute that his was any sort of mistake. Sure, it was originally a minstrel song, but it also makes a tender and wistful ballad. Artistic license. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/13 "2016-02-24T21:08:25Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Maybe they were considering what the definition of “it’s” is. I don’t get it. Are you trying to correct the spelling of “its,” which is fine in this case? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/14 "2016-02-24T21:14:29Z")
> [@svd678](#): > > I know Sousa better than Monty Python. But I did wonder whether Bennie Hill had used it in a sketch\*?\* Benny Hill is associated with “Yakety Sax.” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tNBL5OMeuno/hqdefault.jpg "Benny Hill - Yakety Sax") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNBL5OMeuno) ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/15 "2016-02-24T21:18:02Z")
If only the Marine Band had welcomed Bill Clinton with a rousing rendition of Yakety Sax… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/16 "2016-02-24T21:23:21Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > If only the Marine Band had welcomed Bill Clinton with a rousing rendition of Yakety Sax… It would work only if both Monica and Hillary were there too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/17 "2016-02-24T21:42:21Z")
There were many different versions of Dixie in use by both sides. Here’s Tennessee Ernie Ford singing an [alternate version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PBoboSu6UI) sung by southerners. Here’s Tennessee Ernie Ford singing an [alternate version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5ra9cXx1-o) sung by the Union (“Way down south in the land of traitors/rattlesnakes and alligators/away…”). The theater where the song was supposedly first transcribed and performed was in Montgomery, AL (where I live). It [collapsed](http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2014/06/26/webber-building-in-downtown-montgomery-collapses/11413313/) while being renovated two years ago and has been deemed irreparable. (John Wilkes Booth and Oscar Wilde also performed in that theater.) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/18 "2016-02-24T22:44:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I don’t get it. Are you trying to correct the spelling of “its,” which is fine in this case? 😕 The single word “it’s” is associated with the march. See \*\*Omar Little’s \*\*link (where it’s unfortunately somewhat obscured by the laugh track). ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprising-facts-about-the-song-dixie/746964/19 "2016-02-25T01:15:45Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > I would dispute that his was any sort of mistake. Sure, it was originally a minstrel song, but it also makes a tender and wistful ballad. Artistic license. Did you see how The Three Stooges performed it in “Uncivil Warriors”? 😃