Charles Wesley Godwin - Cranes Of Potter lyrics

Claire was the mayor's daughter
Knees went weak when I saw her
We tussled for a summer when I
Walked in on her and Clyde
And so she'd often wander with
Every boy in Potter
Many suitors died with honour in
War between the states

And Clyde was a cavalry man when he
Got home to him she ran
But he had eyes for Western
Lands and left her behind
So Claire settled down
Her husband moved her out of town
They tried to lay her past to rest
Hung up those evening gowns

Now Jeremiah was a logger we all
Knew he's off his rocker
Thought Claire to be his lover
Much to her surprise
Her children loved their mother
Towards their father she grew fonder
Her hair just turned blonder
Beauty stood the test of time

Then word got around
That Clyde was back in town
By a way of manifest destiny
He had gained himself renown
In the year seventy-five
Ten years after Lincoln died
Claire kissed the kids goodnight
Snuck off to meet her old friend Clyde

Now Jeremiah saw that chance
His own twisted sick romance
Denying his advances Claire was
Never seen alive
He hung for what he'd done
We caught him bloody with his gun
He never told us where she lay
But I know that Claire would run

We never found that girl from Potter
Who'd so often wander
Till more than a century later a
Builder found her in the ground
Beneath the cranes of Potter
Where Jeremiah shot her
There lies the mayor's daughter
Two feet down beneath the cranes of Potter
Hair no longer blonder
Beneath the cranes of Potter
In her finest evening gown