Текст пісні
It was on one bright March morning
I bid New Orleans adieu
I took the road to Jackson town
My fortune to renew
I cursed all foreign money
No credit could I gain
Which filled my heart with longing
For the Lakes of Pontchartrain
I stepped on board a railroad car
Beneath the morning sun
I rode the rods till evening
I laid me down again
All strangers here, no friends to me
Till a dark girl towards me came
I fell in love with a Creole girl
By the Lakes of Pontchartrain
I said, "My pretty Creole girl
My money here's no good
If it weren't for the alligators
I'd sleep out 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 to her mammy's house
And treated me right well
The hair upon her shoulders
In jet black ringlets fell
As I try to paint her beauty
I'm sure it would be in vain
So handsome was my Creole girl
By the Lakes of Pontchartrain
I asked her would she marry me
She said that could never be
For she had got another
Though he was far at sea
She said that she would wait for him
And true she would remain
Till he returned to his Creole girl
By the Lakes of Pontchartrain
So fare thee well my Creole girl
I never will see you more
But I'll not forget your kindness
In the cottage by the shore
And at each social gathering
A flowing glass I'll drink
And drink a health to my Creole girl
By the Lakes of Pontchartrain