The Lakes Of Pontchartrain

B E B F# G#m E F# B It was one fine March morning I bid New Orleans adieu B F# G#m F# B F# B E And I took the road to Jackson town, my fortune to renew B F# G#m F# B F# B E I cursed all foreign money, no credit could I gain B E B F# G#m E F# B Which filled my heart with longing for the lakes of Pontchartrain B E B F# G#m E F# B I stepped on board of a railroad car beneath the morning sun B F# G#m F# B F# B E I rode the roads till evening and I laid me down again B F# G#m F# B F# B E No friends to me all strangers till a dark girl towards me came B E B F# G#m E F# B And I fell in love with my Creole girl by the lakes of Pontchartrain B E B F# G#m E F# B I said My pretty Creole girl, my money here's no good B F# G#m F# B F# B E If it weren't for all the alligators, I'd sleep out in the woods B F# G#m F# B F# B E She said You're welcome here, kind stranger, our house is very plain B E B F# G#m E F# B But we never turned a stranger away by the lakes of Pontchartrain B E B F# G#m E F# B She took me to her Mammy's house, and treated me right well B F# G#m F# B F# B E The hair upon her shoulders in jet black ringlets fell B F# G#m F# B F# B E To try and paint her beauty, I'm sure it would be in vain B E B F# G#m E F# B So handsome was my Creole girl by the lakes of Pontchartrain B E B F# G#m E F# B I asked her if she'd marry me, She said it would never be B F# G#m F# B F# E For she had got a lover and he was far at sea B F# G#m F# B F# B E She said that she would wait for him and true she would remain B E B F# G#m E F# B Till he'd return to his Creole girl on the lakes of Pontchartrain B E B F# G#m E F# B Its fare thee well, me Creole girl, may I never see you more B F# G#m F# B F# B E I'll never forget your kindness in the cottage by the shore B F# G#m F# B F# B E And at each social gathering, a flowing bowl I'll drain B E B F# G#m E F# B And I'll drink a health to my Creole girl by the lakes of Pontchartrain