Jane Siberry - 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
