"Tecumseh Valley" lyrics - TOWNES VAN ZANDT

The name she gave was Caroline
The daughter of a miner
Well her ways were free
And it seemed to me
Sunshine walked beside her

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'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
Tendin' bar for Gypsy Sally

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

She turned to walkin' down the road
From all the hate inside her
And it was many a man
Returned again
To walk that road 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