It was one fine March morning
I bid New Orleans adieu
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
I rode the rods to evenin'
Then lay me down again
All strangers there, no friends to meet
‘Til a dark girl toward me came
And I fell in love with a Creole girl
On the lakes of Pontchartrain

I said, "Me pretty Creole girl,
My money here's no good
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 to her family's house
And treated me right well
The hair upon her shoulders
In jet-black ringlets fell
To try to paint her beauty
‘Twould surely be in vain
So handsome was the Creole girl
On the lakes of Pontchartrain

I asked her, would she marry me
She said that ne'er could 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, it’s fare you well, my bonny ol' girl
I'll ne'er see you no more
I'll never forget your kindness
In the cottage by the shore
And at every social gatherin'
A golden glass I'll drain
And I'll drink a toast to the Creole girl
On the lakes, on the lakes, of Pontchartrain