"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".

"Lexicon Of Love" is one of the all-time great pop recordings!  I lump Duran Duran with INXS.  Both had their own sound and wrote catchy tunes, well performed.  Neither were great, but they could be quite enjoyable.

I much prefer "Acadian Driftwood" as a song and instrumental/vocal performance.  Everybody has an opinion...

@bdp24 how do you think the song would be different if a Southern black person had written it?  Let's face it, most Americans don't sing songs lamenting how bad it must have been to be a German in 1945 when the Russians crossed the Oder River.  And it was really bad.

@bdp24 yes, clearly the song would be different.  I actually like the song, but then again, I like the movie "Gone With the Wind".  However, both present the South and the Civil War in a problematic light.  All I am arguing is that you should take the song within the context of a decades long movement within the United States to paint the South and the Confederacy in a favorable light and as such downplay the evil at its core.  It's hard for me to comprehend but it's 2023 and a major political party leader wants to teach children that slavery was beneficial to the enslaved.

And in no way am I accusing you of anything but being the world's biggest The Band fan.

I assume you're referring to the Griffith 1915 movie.  That's the film where the KKK are the heroes.  It was the biggest grossing film in Hollywood history until "Gone With the Wind".  It's an important movie for cinematic reasons and a touchstone cultural event in American history, however, let's not micro analyze it.

@bdp24, I don't think watching "The Birth Of A Nation" will give you much insight about your relatives' beliefs.  It's an adaptation of a book and play titled "The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan".  The film was instrumental in the nationwide resurgence of the KKK during the 1920s.  The Stoneman family play a prominent role in the movie, but I don't know if they are linked to Stoneman's Calvary from the song.

I want to thank you for sharing details about your family.  It's not always easy being the person you want to be.  If you want to understand racism in American history you should start with "The 1619 Project".  The same people who wrote that all men are created equal were enslavers.  Go figure.

@mahler123, I agree with your description of the characters in the song, however, if you get into a war you have to win.  And if that means killing woman, children and the elderly, then that's what you have to do.  Read up on the bombing strategies of the Allies in WW2.  The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are another good example of doing whatever is necessary to get your enemy to surrender.  The moral high ground is to not start a war, but if war is forced upon then destroy the enemy by any means necessary.

Let's do a thought experiment -- who from Led Zeppelin could play in The Band?  Bonham, no way.  Plant, it's a few decades early in his development.  Page, as an acoustic player he could bring a little English folkie sound to the group.  Although I'm not sure they need that.  Finally, JPJ would slot right in with Danko moving to vocals.

Who from The Band could play in LZ?  Robbie R. could and so could Garth.  I think that would be the most interesting 2 lead guitar group going.

No joke at all.  Garth would provide instrumental texture and density to the LZ palette.  It's a role that JPJ did for them in the studio.  The original Jimmy Page concept for LZ was as a twin guitar band with Terry Reid as the vocalist, co-lead guitarist.  RR can't sing, but he rock a Strat or Les Paul with the best of them.  As an added bonus, LZ's lyrics would have been upgraded.