alternatively , you could use Bm7 instead of Em , which isn’t how it is in the
actual song , but sounds quite good .
G D Em
it was on one fine march morning
C G D G
when i bid new orleans adieu .
G D Em C
and i was on the road to jackson town ,
G D C
my fortunes to renew .
G D Em C
i cursed all foreign money ,
G D C
no credit could i gain ,
G D Em
which filled my heart with longing
C G D G
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 .
alternatively , you could use Bm7 instead of Em , which isn’t how it is in the
actual song , but sounds quite good .
G D Em
it was on one fine march morning
C G D G
when i bid new orleans adieu .
G D Em C
and i was on the road to jackson town ,
G D C
my fortunes to renew .
G D Em C
i cursed all foreign money ,
G D C
no credit could i gain ,
G D Em
which filled my heart with longing
C G D G
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 .