Southern Rock for the Apocalypse, Dixie Version

The Orwellian nightmare known as 2020 continues. Not only are Confederate monuments and symbols under attack, seemingly benign references to anything Southern are now considered “racist.” Real estate listings that use the term “master bedroom” are being changed because the term is a reference to slavery, as does the word “plantation.” The State of Rhode Island is considering changing its official name by dropping “Providence Plantations” because it might make people feel uncomfortable. And then there’s Dixie, not just the song, but the word itself. Dixie State University in Utah is considering a name change, Dixie Brewing Company in Louisiana has dropped the name, and rumors swirled that Winn-Dixie grocery stores were thinking about removing Dixie from its brand.

This is insane. No reader of the Abbeville Institute needs a lesson on the history of the term or why merely mentioning “Dixie” has nothing to do with race–and never has–but we live in strange times. The tune Dixie is certainly forbidden in any respectable public gathering and will become, like the Scottish bagpipes after 1745, an outlawed tune if the woke social justice warriors gain ascendancy.

I thought it would be worthwhile to provide several fine examples of Dixie. Our regular series on Southern rock will return in the near future, but like Mickey Newbury who wrote “An American Trilogy”–famously performed by Elvis–to heal the United States during the Civil Rights movement, perhaps a generous round of Dixieland will soothe the soul in these times of troubles.