Being on one bright March morning
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I bid New Orleans adieu
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And I took the road to Jackson Town
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My fortune to renew
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I cursed all foreign money
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no credit could I gain
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Which filled my heart with longing for
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The lakes of Ponchartrain
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I stepped on board of a railroad car
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Beneath the morning sun
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And I rode the rods till evening
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And laid me down again
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No friend to me, all strangers
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Till a dark girl towards me came
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And I fell in love with a Creole girl
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By the lakes of Ponchartrain
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I said, "My pretty Creole girl
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My money here's no good
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If it weren't for the alligators
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I'd sleep out in the wood"
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"You're welcome here, kind stranger
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Our house is very plain
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But me mammy welcomes strangers,
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On the banks of Pontchartrain"
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She took me to her mammy's house
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And treated me right well
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The hair upon her shoulders
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in long dark ringlets fell
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To try to paint her beauty
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I'm sure would be in vain
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So handsome was my Creole girl
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By the lakes of Pontchartrain
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I asked her if she'd marry me
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Oh no, that could never be
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For she had got a lover
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and he was far at sea
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And she vowed that she would wait for him
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And true she would remain
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So constant was my Creole girl
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By the lakes of Pontchartrain
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So fare-thee-well, my Creole girl
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I never will see you more
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But I'll ne'er forget your kindness
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In the cottage by the shore
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And at each social gathering
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A flowing bowl I'll drain
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And I'll drink a health to my Creole girl
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By the lakes of Pontchartrain
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The Lakes Of Pontchartrain
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| Andy M. Stewart |
