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Traditional - Lakes of Pontchartrain

from Samhain's March: A Winter Journey by James Olin Oden

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about

This is a lovely ballad and though it is about a young man in Louisiana, it is quite squarely in the Irish tradition. I first heard Planxty do this on the album “Cold Blow the Rainy Night” and then later I heard Paul Brady’s version. It is song about finding one’s love in a time of adversity only to find she belongs to another. This particular arrangement comes with a counter melody I like to call Caitlin’s Waltz written by Caitlin Cary.

lyrics

It was one bright March morning, I bid New Orleans adieu,
I rode the roads to Jackson town, me fortune to renew,
I cursed all foreign money, no credit could I find,
Which made me heart long for the Lakes of Pontchartrain.

I stepped on board a railroad car, beneath the morning sun,
I rode the roads till evening, I laid me down again,
All strangers there, no friends to me, till a dark girl towards me came,
I fell in love with a creole girl from the Lakes of Pontchartrain.

I said me bonnie creole girl, “Me money here’s no good,
If it weren’t for the alligators I’d sleep out in the woods.”
“Kind sir your welcome her, though our house is very plain,
We never turn a stranger out from the Lakes of Pontchartrain.”

She took me to her mammy’s house, and treated me quite well,
The hair upon her shoulder’s in jet black ringlets flowed,
To try and paint her beauty I’m sure would be in vain,
So handsome was my creole girl from the Lakes of Pontchartrain.

I asked her if she’d marry me, she said “this ne’er could be,”
For she had got another and he was far at sea,
She said that she would wait for him and true she would remain,
Till he returned for his creole girl by the Lakes of Pontchartrain.

So fare the well, me bonny old lass, I never will see you no more,
But I’ll ne’er forget your kindness in the cottage by the shore,
And at each social gathering, a flowing glass I’ll raise,
I’ll drink a health to my creole girl by the Lakes of Pontchartrain.

credits

from Samhain's March: A Winter Journey, track released May 20, 2011
Chieftain High D Whistle, Tony Dixon Low D Whistle, Guitar, Vocals - James Olin Oden
Concertina - Allen Baker
Uillean Pipes - Eric Hahn
Fiddle, Vocals - Caitlin Cary
Double Bass - David Pitts

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James Olin Oden Raleigh, North Carolina

It's always been about what moves the heart. The songs I sing are compelling stories whose telling must be told over and over again. The stories range from dark acts that should not be forgotten to the silly revelries that we should never forsake. My hope is that as my heart is moved by the music so too may yours be moved.

Sláinte Mhór...James

Licks and Lyrics Interview on WCOM 103.5: http://t ... more

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