Tecumseh Valley Lyrics - Other Voices, Other Rooms - Nanci Griffith

The name she gave was Caroline 

Daughter of a miner 

And her ways were free and 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 

For a dime a day and a place to stay 

She'd turn those hands to labor 

But the times were hard Lord, and 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 whorin' out on the streets 

With all the lust inside her 

And it was many 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 and it seemed to me 

The sunshine walked beside her