It was the fourth track on their sixth studio album Northern Lights – Southern Cross (1975), written by member Robbie Robertson.

[1] On The Band's recording of the song, the lead vocal is traded on the verses between Richard Manuel, Levon Helm, and Rick Danko, with all three singers harmonizing on the choruses.

The expulsion commenced immediately after the British capture of Fort Beauséjour (1755) in present-day New Brunswick and not after "What went down on the Plains of Abraham," a battle fought in 1759 in Quebec.

AllMusic critic Rob Bowman described "Acadian Driftwood" as "a slightly more complex and ambitious (and successful) down-north analog to "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.

"[2] According to The New Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Mark Kemp, "Acadian Driftwood" is one of three songs on Northern Lights – Southern Cross, along with "Ophelia" and "It Makes No Difference," on which "Robertson reclaims his reputation as one of rock's great songwriters.

[7] Rolling Stone commented that in spite of a few factual inaccuracies, "there's no better single song that spotlights the voices of Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Richard Manuel than "Acadian Driftwood" ...