This Saturday, my alma mater will be playing in a championship game.
Southside Rebels: Always Pimpin, Never Slippin
It ain’t going to be in Arlington though. The Southside Rebels will be representing the fine city of Fort Smith, Arkansas in the state finals in Little Rock…for the third time in four years. From what I can tell, these boys are some heart stoppers. Two straight weeks have seen two game winning drives in the final minute of the game. As one might expect, living so far away makes following the boys up on Gary Street a bit difficult. Most of what I hear gets tossed at me through friends or family, and even then the content is scattered. The fact of the matter is, however, that ol’Johnny Reb will soon be sitting on top of the football world in Arkansas…right where he belongs. In honor of this latest installment of greatness to grace the Rebel jersey, I’ve compiled a few tunes that pay homage to Dixie.
Given the outcome of the war between the states, the majority of the songs pertaining to Dixie are sad ones. They are both proud and forlorn in their embrace of fate. There is simply no greater song that captures this duality than The Band’s iconic tune, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Here’s to hoping that these Rebels have more in common with ol’ Ulysses than they do Jeff Davis on Saturday. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down-The Band
Somewhat akin to the previous song is Someone Play Dixie For Me by the Dry Branch Fire Squad. This bluegrass tune is indicative of another type of Dixie song, the death of a transplanted individual. As much as anything, the song conjures up home: that nostalgic memory of what we once possessed and for which the lonely man yearns. In this particular track, the concept of “Dixie” is that special place.
Despite its questionable origins, the song Dixie is also a celebration. Not of antiquated notions or barbaric practices, but a time when things made sense. Though it can be difficult to disassociate the song from the inhumane cruelty that predicated the conditions upon which the song was created, its existence can still be tangible solely as a song. Call it naive, call it short sighted or even dumb, but it is within those parameters that I experience the song. Here is a fellow Arkansan’s instrumental take on the tune.
This idea of a land lost or a place in time that made sense is nailed in Dwight Yoakam’s song, “I Sang Dixie.” In it we hear the tale of a poor and broken man, destroyed by drink and fallen dead in an unforgiving city, Los Angeles.
Yet, for many folks, making Dixie more palatable to a wider audience is predicated on inserting it into a medley of other tunes. The most known is the American Trilogy written and composed by the great Mickey Newbury and made most famous by the King himself, Elvis.
Wonderful Wednesday: Whistlin’ Dixie
This Saturday, my alma mater will be playing in a championship game.
Southside Rebels: Always Pimpin, Never Slippin
It ain’t going to be in Arlington though. The Southside Rebels will be representing the fine city of Fort Smith, Arkansas in the state finals in Little Rock…for the third time in four years. From what I can tell, these boys are some heart stoppers. Two straight weeks have seen two game winning drives in the final minute of the game. As one might expect, living so far away makes following the boys up on Gary Street a bit difficult. Most of what I hear gets tossed at me through friends or family, and even then the content is scattered. The fact of the matter is, however, that ol’Johnny Reb will soon be sitting on top of the football world in Arkansas…right where he belongs. In honor of this latest installment of greatness to grace the Rebel jersey, I’ve compiled a few tunes that pay homage to Dixie.
Given the outcome of the war between the states, the majority of the songs pertaining to Dixie are sad ones. They are both proud and forlorn in their embrace of fate. There is simply no greater song that captures this duality than The Band’s iconic tune, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Here’s to hoping that these Rebels have more in common with ol’ Ulysses than they do Jeff Davis on Saturday.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down-The Band
Somewhat akin to the previous song is Someone Play Dixie For Me by the Dry Branch Fire Squad. This bluegrass tune is indicative of another type of Dixie song, the death of a transplanted individual. As much as anything, the song conjures up home: that nostalgic memory of what we once possessed and for which the lonely man yearns. In this particular track, the concept of “Dixie” is that special place.
Someone Play Dixie For Me-Dry Branch Fire SquadCelebrating six
Despite its questionable origins, the song Dixie is also a celebration. Not of antiquated notions or barbaric practices, but a time when things made sense. Though it can be difficult to disassociate the song from the inhumane cruelty that predicated the conditions upon which the song was created, its existence can still be tangible solely as a song. Call it naive, call it short sighted or even dumb, but it is within those parameters that I experience the song. Here is a fellow Arkansan’s instrumental take on the tune.
Dixie-Jerry Lee Lewis
This idea of a land lost or a place in time that made sense is nailed in Dwight Yoakam’s song, “I Sang Dixie.” In it we hear the tale of a poor and broken man, destroyed by drink and fallen dead in an unforgiving city, Los Angeles.
I Sang Dixie-Dwight YoakamYet, for many folks, making Dixie more palatable to a wider audience is predicated on inserting it into a medley of other tunes. The most known is the American Trilogy written and composed by the great Mickey Newbury and made most famous by the King himself, Elvis.
An American Trilogy-Elvis Presley
And I hope to high heaven that the whistlin’ of Dixie come Saturday is more than just a rosy fantasy. Go Rebs!