In the fifties after many failed attempts to sell his songs, he finally was signed up with Capitol Records and recorded a few rock and roll songs without much chart success. Just before he was drafted into the Army, he wrote a song called 'The All American Boy' and did a demo for his friend, Bill Parsons, to learn and record it. Instead of using the version Bill Parsons did later, the record company, Fraternity Records, decided to use the original demo done by Bobby Bare. The record reached number 2 on the Billboard Top 100, but it was wrongly credited to Bill Parsons.
His real big break came when RCA boss and guitarist Chet Atkins signed him to the RCA label. The first song he released on this label, 'Shame On Me', sold nearly a million copies and pushed Bobby Bare to fame overnight. His second RCA release, 'Detroit City' won him a Grammy for the best song of the year. Then a surge of hits followed, including '500 Miles Away From Home', 'Four Strong Winds' and others. He has also recorded two very successful albums with Skeeter Davis and has also dueted with Lacy J. Dalton and Rosanne Cash and additionally had a major hit as part of a trio with Norma Jean (singer) and Liz Anderson in 1967 titled 'The Game of Triangles'.
He moved to Mercury label in 1970 and had two big hits from early Kris Kristofferson compositions, 'Come Sundown' and 'Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends' before returning to RCA label where he produced his own records. Later Bare moved to CBS label and in 1979, he helped establish Rosanne Cash's career by singing with her on "No Memories Hangin' Round". Bare's singles for Columbia Records included 'The Jogger', 'Tequila Sheila', 'Gotta Get Rid Of This Band', 'When Hippies Get Older' and 'Numbers'. He later recorded for EMI with little success.
Bobby Bare is a versatile singer, and in the 70s started to release novelty songs recorded live with selected audiences. One of such songs, 'Marie Laveau' about a witch, reached the number one position on the country chart. This song was written by his friend, a very talented song writer, poet, author and cartoonist Shel Silverstein. He also penned many other songs for Bobby Bare including a Grammy nominated hit called 'Daddy What If' which he recorded with his five year old son, Bobby Bare Jr, who later became a star on his own. Bobby Bare later recorded a very successful album with his family and penned mainly by Shel called 'Singing in The Kitchen'. It was nominated for best group category in Grammy Awards but was declined by Bobby himself.
He later took chances recording strange, controversial material as 'Dropkick Me Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life)' (a 1976 Grammy nominee) and the expletive-driven 'Redneck Hippie Romance' with much success.
Bobby Bare is also the first to come up with a concept album called 'Bird Named Yesterday' which was very successful. His most successful concept album is 'Lullaby Legends and Lies'.
Bobby Bare was also given an opportunity to star in the movies. He did a Western with Troy Donahue called A Distant Trumpet, and a few episodes of a TV series called No Time for Sergeants. He turned his back on Hollywood to pursue his career in Country Music.
In 1998 he formed the band Old Dogs together with his friends Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Waylon Jennings.
In addition to the above, Bobby Bare is credited for introducing Waylon Jennings to RCA. He is also one of the first to record from many well known song writers such as Jack Clement, Harlan Howard, Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newberry, Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson, and many others. He later had a TV series called 'Bobby Bare & Friends, A Song Writer Showcase'. Recently, he has recorded a new album after over 20 years called 'The Moon Was Blue' produced by his son. His son, Bobby Bare, Jr., is also a musician.
Tecumseh Valley
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 acoss the hill
She said her Pa had sent her
Cause the coal was low and soon the snow
Said she'd 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 the jobs were few
All through Tecumseh Valley
But she asked around and a job she found
Tending 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 came down from Spencer.
She turned to walkin' in the streets
With all the lust inside her
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.
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.
Fare thee well Tecumseh Valley...
The song "Tecumseh Valley" by Bobby Bare tells the story of a young woman named Caroline who comes from Spencer in search of work in Tecumseh Valley. Her father is a miner and is struggling to provide for their family, so Caroline takes it upon herself to find work and send money back home. She is described as being free-spirited and beloved by those who meet her, with the sunshine seeming to walk beside her. Despite her willingness to work hard at menial jobs, the times are tough and jobs are scarce in Tecumseh Valley. Caroline eventually finds work tending bar for Gypsy Sally, managing to save enough money to return home when spring arrives.
Unfortunately, things take a morose turn when Caroline's father dies before she can return home. With her dreams of seeing her family again shattered, Caroline turns to prostitution to survive. The song implies that many men took advantage of her situation, with Caroline eventually dying alone under the stairs that lead to Gypsy Sally's, clutching a note that reads "Fare thee well Tecumseh Valley".
Line by Line Meaning
Name she gave was Caroline
The woman's name was Caroline.
The daughter of a miner
Her father was a miner.
And her ways were free and it seemed to me
She was carefree and seemed happy.
That the sunshine walked beside her.
She had a bright and positive aura.
She come from Spencer acoss the hill
She came from a nearby town called Spencer.
She said her Pa had sent her
Her father had sent her to find work.
Cause the coal was low and soon the snow
The mines were closing due to low coal supply, and winter was coming.
Would change the skies to winter.
The weather would soon become cold and harsh.
Said she'd come to look for work
Caroline was seeking employment.
She was not seeking favors
She did not want special treatment.
For a dime a day and a place to stay
She was willing to work for very little pay and a place to live.
She'd turn those hands to labor.
She was willing to do hard work.
But the times were hard Lord the jobs were few
The town was experiencing economic hardship and there were few job opportunities.
All through Tecumseh Valley
The difficult situation was present in the entire valley.
But she asked around and a job she found
Caroline managed to find work by asking around.
Tending bar for Gypsy Sally.
She got a job working at a bar owned by Gypsy Sally.
She saved enough to get back home
Caroline managed to save some money to go back home.
When spring replaced the winter
She left when the weather improved.
But her dreams were denied her Pa had died
Unfortunately, her father had passed away, and her dreams were shattered.
The word came down from Spencer.
She received the news from her hometown, Spencer.
She turned to walkin' in the streets
Caroline became a prostitute.
With all the lust inside her
She had a lot of physical desire.
It was many a man returned again
Many men would come back to sleep with her again.
To lay himself beside her.
To sleep with her.
They found her down beneath the stairs
She was found dead under the stairs.
That led to Gypsy Sally's
The stairs leading to Gypsy Sally's bar.
In her hand when she died was a note that cried
When she died, she was holding a note.
Fare thee well Tecumseh Valley.
The note said goodbye to Tecumseh Valley.
Fare thee well Tecumseh Valley...
A final farewell to Tecumseh Valley.
Contributed by Muhammad F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ken Margo
Bare had definitely one of the best voices in Country. and Townes' line 'And her ways were free ,and it seemed to me that the sunshine walked beside her', is one of the most beautiful.
Bill Sigler
This is the best version of the song I've heard. Bare gets all the nuance in there, the emptiness and poverty and hope. Thanks for posting.
Gerard Larkin Haverstock
A great singer and a great voice and a great American.
somuchface
I love this record. Love this TOWNES VAN ZANDT song so much! Bobby does it sweet!
TheGarretdeas
A great story song which only someone with Bobby's sure touch, can show off to good effect. He sure knows how to entertain at "live" shows, which is very much evident on this recording.
Thomas Tarwater
I dare you to listen to this rendition by Bobby Bare and not have the lump in the throat and the water in the eyes. Can’t be done. One of the saddest songs ever, and one of my all-time favorites.
romulo tristao
Muito linda esta música.
Pamela Rasmussen
I loved this live Lp in it's day - I remembered Blind Willie, Goin Back to Texas and Down To My Last Come And Get Me as my favorites - I forgot about this one. Thank you sooooo much!!
Michele Barton Thomas
He did a nice job with this. I like it.
Bernard Mainwaring
Always a great artist