~ MP3 ~ THE LAKES OF PONTCHARTRAIN ~
~ KILLARNEY, IRELAND ~ NOVEMBER 23, 2025 ~

THE LAKES OF PONTCHARTRAIN

It was on one bright March morning

I bid New Orleans adieu

I rode the train from Jackson town

My fortune to renew

I cursed all foreign money

No credit could I gain

And it filled my heart with longing for

The lakes of Pontchartrain



I stepped on board a railway car

It was in the morning sun

And I road the rods till evening

And laid me down again

All strangers there no friends to me

Till a dark girl toward me came

And I fell in love with a Creole girl

By the lakes of Pontchartrain



I said "My pretty Creole girl

My money here's no good

If it weren't for the alligator

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

From the lakes of Pontchartrain"



Well she took me into her mammy's house

And treated me quite well

The hair upon her shoulders

In jet black ringlets fell

To try and paint her beauty

I'm sure it would be in vain

So handsome was my Creole girl

By the lakes of Pontchartrain



Well I asked her if she'd marry me

She said that it never 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'd return to his Creole girl

By the lakes of Pontchartrain



So fare thee well my Creole girl

I never will see you no more

But I'll never forget your kindness

In the cottage by the shore

And at each social gathering

A flowing glass I'll drain

And drink a health to the Creole girl

By the lakes of Pontchartrain

PERFORMANCES Concord, California, June 7, 1988 Berkeley, California, June 10, 1988 St. Louis, Missouri, June 17, 1988 Holmdel, New Jersey, June 24, 1988 Wantagh, New York, June 30, 1988 Montreal, Canada, July 8, 1988 Los Angeles, California, August 4, 1988 Fréjus, France, June 13, 1989 Madrid, Spain, June 15, 1989 Athens, Greece, June 28, 1989 Madison, Wisconsin, August 4,1989 Atlanta, Georgia, August 16,1989 New York City, New York, October 11, 1989 New York City, New York, October 12, 1989 Washington DC, October 18, 1989 Princeton, New Jersey, January 15, 1990 Portland, Oregon, August 21, 1990 Nashua, New Hampshire, July 6, 1991 Killarney, Ireland, November 23, 2025 This old folk song had been performed by Bob Dylan 18 times from 1988 until 1991. It had not appeared in concert at all since then, and had not been performed on a European stage since 1989, when Bob Dylan decided to close his first of two concerts in Killarney, Ireland in the fall of 2025 with an amazingly beautiful version of "THE LAKES OF PONTCHARTRAIN". I was extremely blessed to be a part of the audience on that memorable night.