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 a railroad car Beneath the morning sun I rode the roads till evening And I laid me down again All strangers there no friends to me Till 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 But 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 into her mammy's house And treated me right well The hair upon her shoulder In jet black ringlets fell To try and paint her beauty I'm sure 'twould be in vain So handsome was my Creole girl By the lakes of Pontchartrain
I asked her if she'd marry me She said that never could be For she had got another And he was far at sea She said that she would wait for him And true she would remain Till he returned for his Creole girl By the lakes of Pontchartrain
So fare thee well my Creole girl I never may see you no more But I'll ne'er forget your kindness In the cottage by the shore And at each social gathering A flowing glass I'll raise And I'll drink a health to my Creole girl And the lakes of Pontchartrain