Lake Pontchartrain
by Ludo

Album: You're Awful, I Love You (2008)
Play Video
  • I'll tell it like it happened, it was Darius and Noland and me,
    Just a few po' boys trying to get up out of Missouri.
    Took 55 to Louisiana, stopped by the highway to eat.
    They both had craw fish, strictly chicken for me.
    Back out under thunderheads, the radio was Southern soul.
    They interrupted Clarence Carter with a strange-ass local show.
    They were sayin'

    "Come down to Lake Pontchartrain.
    Rest your soul and feed your brain.
    That's where you will get to see everything the water can be."

    The rain was comin' down, the wind was howlin' outside of Slidell.
    It was the kind of night that makes you think the whole world's goin' to hell.
    We got off on an exit 'cause we couldn't read the map so great.
    Near the Choctaw Motel, we parked to deliberate,
    When out of the bayou came a man like the lake had a tongue.
    He was right up on the glass, all yellow-eyed, black teeth, bangin' on the windshield,
    Screamin' like a demon at the top of his lungs,

    "Come down to Lake Pontchartrain.
    Rest your soul and feed your brain.
    Free for you and all your friends.
    Craw fish 'til the bitter end.
    Come down to Lake Pontchartrain.
    Wade to where the shallows break.
    That's where you will get to see everything the water can be."

    I was drivin' out of there as fast as a Camry could,
    But the interstate was flooded, so I had to take the road through the woods.
    Bad move in retrospect; the road disappeared in the rain,
    And I stood on the brakes when I saw the sign:
    "Lake Pontchartrain"
    Darius was yelling that he saw somebody out in the swells,
    He jumped out, runnin', and Noland was goin' as well.
    "Come back!" Why the hell would they leave the car?
    And that's when I heard it, make no mistake
    The voices were calling them from under the lake

    Come down to Lake Pontchartrain

    Come down to Lake Pontchartrain

    Come down to Lake Pontchartrain

    Come down to Lake Pontchartrain

    The craw fish were screaming, the waves danced in time.
    My friends went in deeper, the water, it climbed.
    I watched in terror. The lake opened wide
    And horribly roaring, it pulled them inside.
    That's how it happened! Why would I lie?
    There were no bodies, I've got none to hide.
    I'm just a boy, lost his friends in the rain.
    Any more questions, just go and ask Lake Pontchartrain. Writer/s: ANDREW VOLPE, MARSHALL FANCIULLO, MATTHEW PALERMO, TIMOTHY CONVY, TIMOTHY FERRELL
    Publisher: CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 5

  • Benk from NyI see it everywhere as "danced" but I swear it sounds like "the waves ebbed in time"...
  • Madison from IndianaIt's about Hurricane Katrina.
  • Jordan from Chicago, Ilits all about the crawfish
    he didnt eat it and he was the only one who survived
    and the hobo said that the lake would have crawfish to the bitter end (crawfish till you die)
    but i kinda get the vibe that he killed his friends
  • Raven from Lockport, LaYeah it says "They both had crawfish,strickly chicken for me." It wasnt a creature that was banging on the window, it was a man.. maybe like a hobo. Because it says" He was right up on the glass, all yellow eyed,black teeth, bangin on the windshild..ect." So yeah.
  • Emily from Abingdon, VaUmm....they eat crawfish. That is not the same as crab.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Psychedelic Lyrics

Psychedelic LyricsMusic Quiz

Whoa man! Do you know which band came up with these cosmic lyrics?

Maxi Priest

Maxi PriestSongwriter Interviews

The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.

Don Brewer of Grand Funk

Don Brewer of Grand FunkSongwriter Interviews

The drummer and one of the primary songwriters in Grand Funk talks rock stardom and Todd Rundgren.

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Adam Duritz of Counting CrowsSongwriter Interviews

"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.