Capo 6
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
'Twas on one bright March mornin' I bid New Orleans adieu
B F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# Cadd9
And I took the road to Jackson town, me fortune to renew
G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# G#m7 F#/A# Cadd9
I cursed all foreign money, no credit could I gain
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
Which filled me heart with longing for the lakes of Pontchartrain
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
I stepped on board of a railroad car beneath the morning sun
B F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# Cadd9
I rode the road 'til evening and I laid me down again
G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# G#m7 F#/A# Cadd9
All strangers there, no friends to me, 'til a dark girl towards me came
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
And I fell in love with a Creole girl by the lakes of Pontchartrain
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
I said, "My pretty Creole girl, me money here's no good
B F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# Cadd9
If it weren't for the alligators, I'd sleep out in the wood"
G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# G#m7 F#/A# Cadd9
"You're welcome here, kind stranger, our house, it's very plain
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
But we never turn a stranger out from the lakes of Pontchartrain"
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
She took me to her mammy's house and treated me right well
B F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# Cadd9
The hair upon her shoulders in jet-black ringlets fell
G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# G#m7 F#/A# Cadd9
To try and paint her beauty, I'm sure 'twould be in vain
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
So handsome was my Creole girl by the lakes of Pontchartrain
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
And I asked her if she'd marry me, she'd said it could never be
B F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# Cadd9
For she had got another, and he was far at sea
G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# G#m7 F#/A# Cadd9
She said that she would wait for him and true she would remain
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
'Til he returned for his Creole girl by the lakes of Pontchartrain
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
So fare thee well, me bonny own girl, I never will see no more
B F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# Cadd9
But I'll ne'er forget your kindness in the cottage by the shore
G#m7 Cadd9 B F#/A# G#m7 F#/A# Cadd9
And at each social gathering a flowing glass I'll raise
B Cadd9 F#/A# G#m7 Cadd9 F#/A# B
And I'll drink a health to me Creole girl and the lakes of Pontchartrain
Enjoy!