Jane Siberry Pontchartrain Lyrics

Pontchartrain Lyrics

O it was one fine morning 
I bid New Orleans adieu 
And took the road to Jackson Town 
My fortune to renew 
I cursed all foreign money 
No credit could I gain 
Which had my heart a-longing 
For the Lakes of Pontchartrain 
 
I stowed aboard a railroad car 
Beneath the morning sun 
And I rode the rails `til eventide 
`Til I finally lay me down 
No stranger would befriend me 
`Til a dark girl toward me came 
And I fell in love with a Creole girl 
On the Lakes of Pontchartrain 
 
I said `My bonnie Creole lass, 
My money `tis no good 
And if it weren`t for the alligators 
I`d sleep here in the wood.` 
`You`re welcome here kind stranger 
Our house is very plain 
But we never turn a stranger out 
On the Lakes of Pontchartrain.` 
 
She took me into her mama`s house 
And she treated me right well 
The hair upon her shoulders 
In jet black ringlets fell 
To try to paint her beauty 
`Twould surely be in vain 
So handsome was my Creole lass 
On the Lakes of Pontchartrain 
 
I asked her if she`d marry me, 
She said that ne`er could be 
For she had a lover 
Who was far away at sea 
She said that she would wait for him 
And true she would remain 
`Til he returned to his Creole lass 
On the Lakes of Pontchartrain 
 
So fare thee well, my Creole lass, 
I`ll ne`er see you no more 
And I`ll ne`er forget your kindness 
In the cottage by the shore 
And at each social gathering 
A flowing bowl I`ll drain 
I`ll raise a glass to my Creole lass 
On the Lakes of Pontchartrain 
I`ll raise a glass to my bonnie lass 
On the Lakes of Pontchartrain