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It was on one fine March morning
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When I bid New Orleans adieu.
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And I was on the road to Jackson Town,
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My fortunes to renew.
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I cursed all foreign money,
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No credit could I gain,
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Which filled my heart with longing
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For the lakes of Pontchartrain.

I sat on board a railway car
Beneath the morning sun,
And I rode the rails 'til evening
When I lay 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
On the lakes of Pontchartrain.

I said, 'My pretty Creole girl,
My money here's no good.
If it weren't for the alligators
I would sleep out in the woods.'
'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 up to her mama's house,
And treated me right well.
He hair upon her shoulders
In jet-black ringlets fell.
To try to paint her beauty
I'm sure 'twould be in vain,
So handsome was my Creole girl
On the lakes of Pontchartrain.

I asked her would she marry me,
But she said it never would be,
For she had got a lover
And he was off at sea.
She said that she would wait for him ,
And faithful she'd remain,
Waiting for her sailor
On the lakes of Pontchartrain.

So fare you well, my bonny ol' girl.
I may never see you no more,
But I won't forget your kindness
In that cottage by the shore.
At every social gathering
A golden glass I'll drain,
And I'll drink a health to the Creole girl
On the lakes of Pontchartrain.