Or not

Is it me ? - yes - or is anyone else confused by the story in verses one and two ?

He says goodbye to New Orleans , and heads for Jackson - state cap -, but somehow he doesnt leave the Lakes

so

If he rode the rods to Jackson , how come he met a Creole gal by the lakes of Pontchartrain if it was from there he had supposedly left?

did he fall asleep, ride back again believing himself to be in Jackson ? After all he did ride from sunrise to sunset and if aint all that far even for March there would have been enough daylight hours.

or did he not really leave but imagined he had.?

he was longing for where he already was or was he not there to start with ?

Sort me out.

great song regardless , just a tad confusing thats all