Song Description

coming of age in alabama, moving to the big city

Lyrics

She had a smile filled with daisies and a laugh that fell like summer rain
She picked pennies from the south track left by folks who still believed in trains
She'd hear the echo of the whistle and ride the sound to the state line
On a gentle road to nowhere lost on Alabama time
She'd throw that copper in the creekbed the old well long ago ran dry
But if all you got are penny wishes creekbeds works just fine

She lost her childhood at thirteen the day her mama died
And her innocence at fifteen to broken promises and lies
At eighteen she took off for the city with a simple heart and starry eyes
Her whole life packed in just one suitcase and dreams brighter than the city lights
Whenever she felt homesick she'd stroll down to the park's south side
'Cause when you're short on creekbeds Bethesda fountain works just fine

She never got her big break but she found a happy life
In the arms of a good man with sapphire blue eyes
Had a child two winters later and named her Caroline
After the saddest song she ever heard from a Texas poet she'd long admired
She takes her daughter to the south pier pail full of pennies by their side
'Cause creekbeds and city fountains and rivers work just fine

And from the palm of her only child her penny wishes still fly