[Verse 1] 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 [Verse 2] 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 [Verse 3] 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 [Verse 4] 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 [Verse 5] Now Jeremiah saw that chance, his own twisted sick romance Denying his advances Claire was never seen alive He hung for what he'd down, we caught him bloody with his gun He never told us where she lay, but I know that Claire would run [Verse 6] 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 often blonder Beneath the cranes of Potter, in her finest evening gown