This is "definitely" from Illinois !?

It was on the 3rd of January I bid Cairo town adieu,
Traveled down the river road my fortune to pursue,
No money in my pocket--no credit could I gain,
And my mind it turned with longing to the lakes of Ponchartrain.

I swung on board of an old boxcar just as the day did dawn,
I rode the rods from sun to sun---then I lit down again,
As the shades of evening fell the lowground I did gain,
And 'twas there I met a creole girl on the shores of Ponchartrain...

Art Thieme