The Lakes of Pontchartrain
Encyclopedia
The Lakes of Pontchartrain is an Irish ballad about an unfortunate immigrant from Ireland who is given shelter by a beautiful Louisiana Creole
woman. He falls in love with her and asks her to marry him, but she is already promised to a sailor and declines the offer.
forms the northern boundary of New Orleans, while Lake Maurepas
is west of Lake Pontchartrain and connected to Lake Pontchartrain by Pass Manchac and North Pass. Lake Borgne
is east of Lake Pontchartrain and connects to Lake Pontchartrain through the GIWW/IHNC
, Pass Rigolets
, and Chef Menteur Pass
. Lake Borgne extends into Mississippi Sound
and therefore is directly connected to the Gulf of Mexico
.
's album Ready for the Storm, which includes the song, it is described as a "traditional Creole love song." The liner notes accompanying Planxty's version state that the tune was probably brought back by soldiers fighting for the British or French armies in Louisiana and Canada in the War of 1812
. Although the tune might date to that period, the popular lyrics undoubtedly came much later, since they tell of taking a railway train from New Orleans to "Jackson Town". This was most likely to be the railway junction town of Jackson, Tennessee (named in honor of Louisiana Governor, General Andrew Jackson). The line would have been the New Orleans, Jackson and Northern Railway—whose line, opened in the 1860s, included a pre-existing local line running north from downtown New Orleans along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Most likely, the lyrics date to the Civil War, and the reference to "foreign money" being "no good" could refer to either U. S. or Confederate currency, depending upon who was in control of the area at the time. It should also be noted that thousands of banks, during the civil war, issued their own bank notes, which could be rejected in various towns, depending on how trusted were the issuing bank. Also, the Confederacy and Union issued their own bank notes—as did individual States—leading to a proliferation of currency (notes and coinage) that might not be acceptable in a particular region.
on Cold Blow and the Rainy Night
in 1974
and by the Irish musician and songwriter (and sometime member of Planxty) Paul Brady
on Welcome Here Kind Stranger
in 1978
. The 2002
release of a live recording of the songs from the aforementioned album, entitled The Missing Liberty Tapes, preserves a solo rendition of The Lakes of Pontchartrain from Paul's 1978
concert at Liberty Hall in Dublin. A new recording of The Lakes of Pontchartrain appears on his 1999
album Nobody Knows: The Best of Paul Brady
. Brady has also recorded an Irish-language version of the song, as "Bruach Loch Pontchartrain", which was translated by Francie Mooney.
, the Be Good Tanyas, and Mark Knopfler
performing with the Chieftains
.
The band Tangerine Dream
recorded a version of the song for their 2007
album Madcap's Flaming Duty
.
Shona Kipling & Damien O'Kane played it on their "Pure Chance" CD.
Bob Dylan
performed the song frequently in 1988
-1989
.
Andy M. Stewart
, former lead singer for Silly Wizard
covered this version on his 1994 album Man In The Moon.
The song was included on Swedish rock artist/songwriter Svante Karlsson’s debut album "American songs" in 1999.
The song has also been recorded in 2010 by the Coronas
The tune, or a slight variation of it, is to be found in the Scots tradition accompanying the Border ballad
"Jock O'Hazeldean".
When this song made its way west, cowboys changed the title to "On the Lake of the Poncho Plains." The Creole girl became a Cree Indian and the Pontchartrain was changed to the Poncho Plains. The cowboy version is recorded in Singing Cowboy; A Book of Western Songs collected and edited by Margaret Larkin, c1931.
Louisiana Creole
Louisiana Creole can refer to:* Louisiana Creole people* Louisiana Creole French language* Louisiana Creole cuisine...
woman. He falls in love with her and asks her to marry him, but she is already promised to a sailor and declines the offer.
Setting
The song is named for and set on the shores of the major estuarine waterbodies of the Pontchartrain Basin, including Lakes Maurepas, Pontchartrain, and Borgne. Lake PontchartrainLake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
forms the northern boundary of New Orleans, while Lake Maurepas
Lake Maurepas
Lake Maurepas is located in southeastern Louisiana approximately halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge directly west of Lake Pontchartrain.-Namesake:...
is west of Lake Pontchartrain and connected to Lake Pontchartrain by Pass Manchac and North Pass. Lake Borgne
Lake Borgne
Lake Borgne is a lagoon in eastern Louisiana of the Gulf of Mexico. Due to coastal erosion, it is no longer actually a lake but rather an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Its name comes from the French word borgne, which means "one-eyed".-Geography:...
is east of Lake Pontchartrain and connects to Lake Pontchartrain through the GIWW/IHNC
Industrial Canal
The Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation Canal...
, Pass Rigolets
Rigolets
The Rigolets is a 12.9 kilometer long strait in Louisiana.It begins at and follows a generally eastward course to Lake Borgne, which is a lagoon in the Gulf of Mexico, where it ends at . Along with nearby Chef Menteur Pass, the Rigolets connects Lake Pontchartrain and Lake St. Catherine to Lake...
, and Chef Menteur Pass
Chef Menteur Pass
The Chef Menteur Pass is a narrow natural waterway which, along with the Rigolets, connects Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne in New Orleans, Louisiana...
. Lake Borgne extends into Mississippi Sound
Mississippi Sound
The Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from Waveland, Mississippi, to the Dauphin Island Bridge, a distance of about 145 kilometers...
and therefore is directly connected to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
Origins
The exact origin of the song is unknown, though it is commonly held to have originated in the southern United States in the 19th century. In the liner notes of DéantaDéanta
Déanta is an Irish traditional music band from Northern Ireland. The name of the band is the Irish word for done or made. The band, formed in the early 1990s in County Antrim, played together until 1997 and regrouped in 2008. The band were noted members of the traditional music scene in Ireland...
's album Ready for the Storm, which includes the song, it is described as a "traditional Creole love song." The liner notes accompanying Planxty's version state that the tune was probably brought back by soldiers fighting for the British or French armies in Louisiana and Canada in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Although the tune might date to that period, the popular lyrics undoubtedly came much later, since they tell of taking a railway train from New Orleans to "Jackson Town". This was most likely to be the railway junction town of Jackson, Tennessee (named in honor of Louisiana Governor, General Andrew Jackson). The line would have been the New Orleans, Jackson and Northern Railway—whose line, opened in the 1860s, included a pre-existing local line running north from downtown New Orleans along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Most likely, the lyrics date to the Civil War, and the reference to "foreign money" being "no good" could refer to either U. S. or Confederate currency, depending upon who was in control of the area at the time. It should also be noted that thousands of banks, during the civil war, issued their own bank notes, which could be rejected in various towns, depending on how trusted were the issuing bank. Also, the Confederacy and Union issued their own bank notes—as did individual States—leading to a proliferation of currency (notes and coinage) that might not be acceptable in a particular region.
Planxty and Paul Brady
Among the best known versions of the song are those recorded by the Irish traditional musical group PlanxtyPlanxty
Planxty is an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s, consisting initially of Christy Moore , Dónal Lunny , Andy Irvine , and Liam O'Flynn...
on Cold Blow and the Rainy Night
Cold Blow and the Rainy Night (album)
Cold Blow and the Rainy Night is the third album by the Irish folk group Planxty. The record was released in 1974 and takes its title from the third song on the album, Cold Blow and the Rainy Night.-Track listing:#"Johnny Cope"...
in 1974
1974 in music
-January–April:*January 3 – Bob Dylan and The Band kick off their 40-date concert tour at Chicago Stadium. It's Dylan's first time on the road since 1966.*January 17...
and by the Irish musician and songwriter (and sometime member of Planxty) Paul Brady
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
on Welcome Here Kind Stranger
Welcome Here Kind Stranger
Welcome Here Kind Stranger is a 1978 album by Paul Brady.After leaving The Johnstons, Paul Brady toured with Planxty, but never recorded with them. His first solo album, Welcome Here Kind Stranger, from 1978, is his only solo folk album prior to his embarking on a successful, long-term foray into...
in 1978
1978 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom....
. The 2002
2002 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...
release of a live recording of the songs from the aforementioned album, entitled The Missing Liberty Tapes, preserves a solo rendition of The Lakes of Pontchartrain from Paul's 1978
1978 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1978.-January–April:*January 14 – The Sex Pistols play their final show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom....
concert at Liberty Hall in Dublin. A new recording of The Lakes of Pontchartrain appears on his 1999
1999 in music
-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....
album Nobody Knows: The Best of Paul Brady
Nobody Knows: The Best of Paul Brady
Nobody Knows: The Best of Paul Brady is a compilation album by Irish singer/songwriter Paul Brady, his second. First released in 1999 by Rykodisc, it was re-released in 2002 by Compass Records...
. Brady has also recorded an Irish-language version of the song, as "Bruach Loch Pontchartrain", which was translated by Francie Mooney.
Others
Other renditions include those by Jonathan Day on his 2004 album A Sky Like Me, Peter CasePeter Case
Peter Case is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, who has had a wide-ranging career ranging from new wave music to folk rock to solo acoustic performance.-Early career:...
, the Be Good Tanyas, and Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
performing with the Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
.
The band Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
recorded a version of the song for their 2007
2007 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
album Madcap's Flaming Duty
Madcap's Flaming Duty
Madcap's Flaming Duty is a 2007 album by Tangerine Dream. Along with Cyclone it is one of the few Tangerine Dream releases to feature vocals...
.
Shona Kipling & Damien O'Kane played it on their "Pure Chance" CD.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
performed the song frequently in 1988
1988 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....
-1989
1989 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
.
Andy M. Stewart
Andy M. Stewart
Andy M. Stewart is a Scottish singer and songwriter, formerly the frontman for Silly Wizard.Stewart toured with Silly Wizard until the band broke up in 1988. Since then, he has recorded four solo albums, as well as three with Manus Lunny...
, former lead singer for Silly Wizard
Silly Wizard
Silly Wizard was a Scottish folk band that began forming in Edinburgh in 1970. The founder members were two like-minded university students—Gordon Jones and Bob Thomas...
covered this version on his 1994 album Man In The Moon.
The song was included on Swedish rock artist/songwriter Svante Karlsson’s debut album "American songs" in 1999.
The song has also been recorded in 2010 by the Coronas
Alternative lyrics and tunes
An alternative verse can be found in the Digital Tradition Folk Song Search.The tune, or a slight variation of it, is to be found in the Scots tradition accompanying the Border ballad
Border ballad
The English/Scottish border has a long and bloody history of conquest and reconquest, raid and counter-raid . It also has a stellar tradition of balladry, such that a whole group of songs exists that are often called "border ballads", because they were collected in that region.Border ballads, like...
"Jock O'Hazeldean".
When this song made its way west, cowboys changed the title to "On the Lake of the Poncho Plains." The Creole girl became a Cree Indian and the Pontchartrain was changed to the Poncho Plains. The cowboy version is recorded in Singing Cowboy; A Book of Western Songs collected and edited by Margaret Larkin, c1931.