It was on one bright March morning
I bid New Orleans adieu
And 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 of a railroad car
Beneath the morning sun
And I rode the rods till evening
And I laid me down again
All strangers there, no friends to me,
'Til a dark girl towards me came,
And 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.
And if it weren't for the alligators
I would sleep out in the wood'
'You're welcome here, kind stranger,
Our house is very plain.
And we never turned a stranger out
On the lakes of Pontchartrain'
She took me into her mammy's house
And treated me right well.
The hair upon her shoulders
In jet black ringlets fell.
To try to paint her beauty,
I'm sure would be in vain,
So handsome was my Creole girl
By the lakes of Pontchartrain
I asked her would she marry me,
She said 'This could never be'.
For she had got a lover
And he was far at sea.
She said that she would wait for him
And true she would remain,
'Til he returned to his Creole girl
On the lakes of Pontchartrain
So fare thee well, my Creole girl
I never may see you more
But I'll never forget your kindness
In the cottage by the shore
And at each social gathering
A flowing glass I'll drain
And I'll drink a health to my Creole girl
By the lakes of Pontchartrain