Dorraine of Ponchartrain

Lyrics

[Intro] Ride this train to Bogalusa, Louisiana See these swamps and forest? Man's never set foot in a lot of it. You'll find alligator, mink, 'coon, possum, squirrel, otter and the lakes are full of fish. You'll find places so virgin and fresh that you'll think the Lord just created it yesterday. As a matter of fact, some people say when this world was made, a whole lot of it must have looked just like southern Louisiana does now In 1788, I left Halifax, Nova Scotia with about 200 other Acadians. We made a long, tiring journey south. In our party of 200, there was this beautiful girl that I just haven't quite been able to forget. Dorraine was her name, and Dorraine and I were... well, we were kinda pledged to each other. And what we said, when we got to the promised land, we'd build us a house and someday we'd have the biggest sugarcane plantation in the country. And I used to make Dorraine blush when I'd tell her we'd raise the biggest family in the country too [Verse 1] As I walked by the lake one day, by chance my Dorraine passed my way Then she and I walked hand in hand on the banks of Pontchartrain I pinned a flower on her heart, I swore we'd never be apart She vowed her love forever and, as I kissed her, did the same [Chorus] Dorraine, my Dorraine My dark-haired little angel My belle of Pontchartrain [Verse 2] We sat down on the dock and with our hearts and fingers locked We laughed and talked and joked about when our names are the same And joking, I said, "Honey, are you marrying me for money?" And it took just one quick look to tell it hurt my dear Dorraine [Verse 3] She jumped and stood above me and she cried, "Why you don't love me! I'm rowing home across the lake you won't see me again" I called and called some more, but she rowed fast from the shore And the clouds brought by a wind began to rain on Pontchartrain [Chorus] Dorraine, I called Dorraine Come back, my little angel My belle of Pontchartrain [Verse 3] The storm should make her learn that she should make a swift return But as the rain fell harder, I lost sight of my Dorraine As panic gripped my heart, I drew the oars and made my start To look for her on raging water and the rain on Pontchartrain [Verse 4] At darkness, I still called, but no one heard my cries at all And when the daybreak came then others helped me look for my Dorraine But there was not a thing afloat except the oars from her rowboat For all was lost upon the choppy waves and rain on Pontchartrain [Verse 5] Now I come day after day to where my sweetheart rowed away And I gaze across the water of the rainy Pontchartrain Just one thing and nothing more ever floated back to shore It was this flower I hold, it is the one I pinned on my Dorraine [Chorus] Dorraine, my Dorraine My dark haired little angel My belle of Pontchartrain