Subject: RE: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: dick greenhaus Date: 16 Jun 04 - 12:01 AM There are other tunes besides the commonly sung ne. Elen Stekert collect a rather cheerful one from Fuzzy Barhight, a New York Lumberjack, and recorded it for Folkways. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST,Desi Date: 31 Aug 09 - 05:59 AM The ong, On The Banks Of The Old Ponchartrain, was written by Hank Williams Snr & Ramona Vincent in 1947, and recorded by Hank, you can hear him sing it on YouTube. I don't know if it's meant to be a version of Lakes Of Ponchartrain, but I'd reckon certainly influenced by it while having a different tune, and being a darn good song in it's own right Desi in England |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST,Jeff Lester Date: 27 Oct 09 - 11:08 AM A fine version from the Watkins Family Hour. Sean Watkins (guitar) and Sara Watkins (fiddle) from Nickel Creek with Gemma Hayes singing, Benmont Tench on piano, and Michael Witcher on dobro. http://www.archive.org/download/wfh2005-04-13..flac16/wfh2005-04-13.flac/wfh2005-04-13t14_vbr.mp3 |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST Date: 04 Aug 10 - 09:11 AM I played there O'Flaherty's Irish Channel Pub in the French Quarter in New Orleans 2001 and confirm the owner was a top man. Hope his pub survived. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST Date: 04 Aug 10 - 02:21 PM Sorry, GUEST; Danny O'Flaherty left New Orleans for good after Katrina in August '05. While the French Quarter was high and dry, unaffected by the flooding that decimated many newer neighborhoods throughout the city, there was significant wind and other damage to his pub, more than he was prepared to address. He does perform in New Orleans periodically, and the annual Celtic Nations Festival, originally held in New Orleans, is now based about 250 miles to the west at Lake Charles, LA, near the Texas border. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: maple_leaf_boy Date: 04 Aug 10 - 02:52 PM 'Twas (C)on a (G)dark and (Em)stormy (Am)night (C)as I (Am)lately (F)took (G7)my (C)way, Through windfalls (Em)thick with (Am or F)Devils grubs, my (Em)aching feet did (F)stray, Un(C)til at (Em)last by the (Am)evening (Em)star some (Am)higher ground (F)I (G)gained (G7) And (C)there I (G)met with a (Em)Creole (Am)girl (C)by the (Am)Lakes of (F)Pon-(G7)char-(C)train. I'm doing this by memory. This roughly how I used to play it. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST,dermie Date: 16 Aug 10 - 01:26 PM go to www.paulbrady.com, along the top there is a link that says "tabulature" and download and print off sheet music for Paul's Excellent, excelent version of this song. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST Date: 01 Oct 12 - 05:06 PM I would just like to set the record straight, no pun intended,I am the daughter of the late kathleen ramona vincent who wrote on the banks of the old ponchartrain, My mother was not crippled or from louisiana,she was from talented song writer and model from montgomery alabama,my name is nancy ricciardi,you can find me on facebook. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST,threelegsoman Date: 02 Oct 12 - 07:33 AM Perhaps Nancy you should get in touch with Wikipedia who make the following notes on the origin of this song: 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 Déanta'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. My own version of the song can be found by clicking on the link:- The Lakes of Pontchartrain |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 02 Oct 12 - 10:34 AM Here's an amateur video which shows what the landscape is like around Lake Ponchartrain. The camera shakes sometime, and you need to turn your volume down to nothing so you don't hear the irritating lounge music which the maker added as background. But it's worth seeing the kind of country where the lost soldier/criminal found himself after running from trouble. cypresses and water See how strange it is? See how different it is from Texas, Tennessee, New Orleans or Ireland? How does he make a living, how does he survive here? He's totally dependent on the people who helped him and who knew the way of life in the bayous. When you sing this, try to get that landscape into the song. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: dick greenhaus Date: 02 Oct 12 - 08:40 PM There are at least 4 pretty distinct tunes I've heard to "Lakes of Ponchartrain". Asking for chords without specifying which tune is a lost cause. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: michaelr Date: 02 Oct 12 - 08:53 PM Guest, threelegsoman, Nancy was talking about another song, "On the Banks of the Old Pontchartrain", which was recorded by Hank Williams. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST,DTM Date: 03 Oct 12 - 01:50 PM FWIW, the tune sounds kinda similar to 'The Wild Colonial Boy' to me. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 03 Oct 12 - 05:46 PM Dick Greenhaus says he's heard at least four distinct tunes. I bet the tune that I learned from a local band is the fifth. That has made this a pretty confusing thread, to tell you the truth. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: PoppaGator Date: 12 Oct 12 - 06:09 PM The Wikipedia quote (above, posted last week on 2 Oct 12) is even less trustworthy than most Wiki info ~ for starters, Andrew Jackson was NEVER Governor of Louisiana. To my mind, this level of ignorance puts the entire article in doubt. Also: Jackson TN is pretty far away from NO, especially for a 19th century narrator who never gets any further north than Lake Pontchartrain. Jackson MS is quite a bit closer, and Jackson LA even closer than that, and both are better candidates for consderation as the song's "Jackson town." My own favorite theory links the song to the brief wave of Irish immigration into New Orleans in the 1830s, a response to the first Great Famine that occurred when immigrant labor was being recruitted to dig the New Basin Canal. So many workers on that project died of yellow fever* that word got back to Ireland, and the Irish never again emigrated to New Orleans in significant numbers. I will grant that the line about "foreign money" strongly suggests a Civil War timeframe, due to the existence of USA and CSA currency. That does not preclude an earlier origin, however, since paper money was issued by banks in the early 19th century, not by the national government(s), and would not always be recognized as valid outside a local area. I am NOT going to reiterate my customarily lengthy spiel about the possible origin of this lovely song; I've done so too many times already, and anyone interested can scan through the "related threads" listed above. *Somewhere in one of those other threads, I mistakenly equated "yellow fever" with malaria, and got called on it. My bad: malaria's old-fashoined colloquial name was "yellow jaundice, not "yellow fever." |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: Peter T. Date: 04 Apr 19 - 12:56 PM Added to an great old, long thread -- this is a pretty accurate chord version, based on Paul Brady -- some of the words are slightly different (cf. above!). The trick is to be sure and stress the 6/8 time signature. LAKES OF PONTCHARTRAIN 6/8 time C F C G C It was on one bright March morning Am G C I bid New Orleans adieu C(Em) G Am F And I took the road to Jackson town, C G F My fortune to renew C(Em) G Am Dm I cursed all foreign money C G F No credit could I gain C F C G C Which filled my heart with longing for Am G C The lakes of Pontchartrain C F C G C I stepped on board a railroad car Am G C Beneath the morning sun C(Em) G Am F And I rode the rods till evening C G F And I laid me down again, C(Em) G Am Dm Until the shades of evening, C G F When a dark girl towards me came, C F C G C And I fell in love with a Creole girl Am G C By the lakes of Pontchartrain C F C G C I said 'My pretty Creole girl, Am G C My money here's no good. C G Am F If it weren't for the alligators C G F I’d sleep out in the wood' C G Am Dm 'You're welcome here, kind stranger, C G F Our house is very plain. C F C G C But we never turn a stranger out Am G C On the lakes of Pontchartrain' C F C G C She took me to her mother’s house Am G C And treated me right well. C G Am F Her hair in jet black ringlets C G F About her shoulders fell. C G Am Dm To try to paint her beauty, C G F I'm sure would be in vain, C F C G C So handsome was my Creole girl Am G C By the lakes of Pontchartrain C F C G C I asked her would she marry me, Am G C She said ‘That ne’er could be' C G Am F For she had got another C G F And he was far at sea. C G Am Dm She said that she would wait for him C G F And true she would remain, C F C G C 'Til he returned to his Creole girl Am G C By the lakes of Pontchartrain C F C G C So fare thee well, my Creole girl Am G C I never may see you more C G Am F But I'll ne’er forget your kindness C G F In that cottage by the shore C G Am Dm And at every social gathering C G F A golden glass I'll drain C F C G C And I'll drink all health to my Creole girl Am G C By the lakes of Pontchartrain |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of PonTchartrain From: Tattie Bogle Date: 04 Apr 19 - 03:37 PM At last! Someone who can spell it correctly! PonTchartrain. |
Subject: RE: Chords Req: The Lakes of Ponchartrain From: gillymor Date: 06 Apr 19 - 12:03 PM Here is PB's arrangement in Open D (capo III) complete with chords. I got this some time ago out of Acoustic Guitar magazine and worked out an arrangement in Drop-D in the Key of G and I follow it with the tune Off to California also in G. |
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