Steve Earle - Tecumseh Valley lyrics

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

She comes from Spencer across the hill
She said her pa had sent her
Because 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 seeking favors
For a dime a day and a place to stay
Ah, she could turn them hands to labor
Ah, but times were hard and jobs were few
All through Tecumseh Valley
But she asked around and the job she found
Tending bar for Gypsy Sally

She saved enough to get back home
When the spring replaced the winter
But her dreams were denied, her pa had died
The word had come down from Spencer

She took to whoring out on the streets
With all the lust inside her
Many a man returned again
Just to lay himself beside her

They found her down beneath the stairs
That lead to Gypsy Sally's
In her hand when she died
Was a note that cried
"Fare thee well, Tecumseh Valley"