Alternatively, you could use Bm7 instead of Em, which isn't how it is in the
actual song, but sounds quite good.
[Verse 1]
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 C
My fortunes to renew.
G D Em C
I cursed all foreign money,
G C
No credit could I gain,
G D Em
Which filled my heart with longing
C G D G
For the lakes of Pontchartrain.
[Verse 2]
(same as verse 1)
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.
[Verse 3]
(same as verse 1)
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.'
[Verse 4]
(same as verse 1)
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.
[Verse 5]
(same as verse 1)
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.
[Verse 6]
(same as verse 1)
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.
