Tecumseh Valley

Tecumseh Valley Townes Van Zandt

The name she gave was Caroline

The daughter of a miner

And her ways were free

And it seemed to me

That the sunshine walked beside her

She come from 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'd come to look for work

She was not seekin' favors

For a dime a day

And a place to stay

She turn those hands to labor

Well times were hard and, lord, jobs were few

All through Tecumseh Valley

But she asked around

And a job she found

Tending bar at Gypsy Sally's

Well she saved enough to get back home

When spring replaced the winter

But her dreams were denied

Her pa had died

The word came down from Spencer.

Well she took to walking out in the streets

With all the grief inside her

And it was many a man

Who returned again

To walk that road beside her.

They found her down beneath the stairs

That led to Gypsy Sally's

And in her hand when she died

Was a note that cried

Fare-thee-well, Tecumseh Valley

The name she gave was Caroline

The daughter of a miner

And her ways were free

And it seemed to me

That the sunshine walked beside her