Nanci Griffith - Tecumseh Valley lyrics

The name she gave was Caroline

Daughter of a miner

And her ways were free

It seemed to me

The sunshine walked beside her

She came to Spencer

Across the hill

She said her Pa had sent her

'Cause the coal was low

And soon the snow

Would turn the skies to winter

She said she's come

To look for work

She was not seeking favors

And for a dime a day

And a place to stay

She'd turn those hands to labor

But the times were hard, Lord

The jobs were few

All through Tecumseh Valley

But she asked around

And a job she found

Tending bar at Gypsy Sally's

She saved enough to get back home

When spring replaced the winter

But her dreams were denied

Her Pa had died

The word come down from Spencer

So she turned a whore out on the streets

With all the lust inside her

And it was pity a man

Returned again

To lay himself beside her

They found her down beneath the stairs

That led to Gypsy Sally's

In her hand when she died

Was a note that cried

Fare thee well

Tecumseh Valley

The name she gave was Caroline

Daughter of a miner

And her ways were free

It seemed to me

The sunshine walked beside her