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The mission of the KelticDead Music initiative is to find tunes and songs from around the world that have Celtic,

Folk, World, Americana, and Seafaring origins, and arrange them into simple sheet music formats for folk musicians

to use, as well as provide links for the music that follows the arrangements to help in hearing how it can be played. In

addition, other links are provided for the stories and possible lyrics about the selections within video-based, KDM

Broadsides for a music-education experience.

All the selections and sheet music content provided in the KelticDead Music initiative are from

traditional, made-public, made-public with credits, or cited credits where applicable. This material

content is given with permissions. Patrick O. Young, KelticDead Music.

Banks of the Pontchartrain

This tune and song is classified as Americana, Irish, Scots, and Seafaring at the

same time. While that may be confusing knowing how this mix came about provides

a key understanding as to why. In addition, the title of the tune is also known as

“Lakes of the Pontchartrain,” and the two descriptions are found within the lyrics.

“The Banks of the Pontchartrain,”

is also referred to as “The Lakes of

the Pontchartrain” because the

major waterway in southern

Louisiana, near New Orleans, is

comprised of several lakes;

Maurepas, Pontchartrain, and

Borgne. Starting in the early 1800s,

wood-hulled ships could pass from

the Gulf Ocean through the Borgne

estuary into Lake Pontchartrain.

When steel hulled ships were created starting in 1827, the waters in Lake

Pontchartrain were found to be too shallow for the heavier, ocean-going ships,

and the cargos were dropped off in the Lake Borgne ports. Transportation shifted

more to the railroads into and out of New Orleans.

The song itself may have been created after 1827, since the traveler spoke of

riding a railroad car, and a railroad line was built in the 1830s (known as the Great

Northern Railway). It was in operation in the time of the Civil war in the 1860s and

ran from New Orleans, Louisiana to Jackson Town, Mississippi along the shores of

Lake Pontchartrain. Jackson Town was named in honor of General Andrew

Jackson after the war of 1812.

Continued …

KelticDead Music