PUBLIC -- words traditional (Roud 1836, Laws H9, Sam Henry H619; Antrim version collected 1935 from Paddy McCluskey, who learned it c. 1905 from an American woodsman; BBC recording 1953; Christy Moore via Mike Waterson; Planxty 1974; Paul Brady 1978 "trad. arr."). Compiled 2026-10-29 in a cloud session WITHOUT page access: text written from the lead's knowledge of the standard six-verse Brady/Moore text [C] and NOT yet checked line by line against two open sources -- every line is for review. ROUD/ORIGIN: Mainly Norfolk https://mainlynorfolk.info/songs/thelakesofpontchartrain.html ; Folklorist https://folklorist.org/song/The_Lake_of_Ponchartrain ; Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lakes_of_Pontchartrain ; Planxty liner note (1974) https://theballadeers.com/plx_1974_cold_blow.htm ; Brady album https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_Here_Kind_Stranger . TRADITIONAL TEXTS to check against: Contemplator https://contemplator.com/america/ponchtrn.html ; Expecting Rain https://expectingrain.com/dok/atlas/pontchartrain.html . CHORDS: placed by BEAT COUNT from Chief's Chordify grid of his reference recording (key E, capo 2, D shapes, 143 BPM, 3-beat cells; reference only, not copied) with the standard D / G / A / Bm accompaniment as the frame; grid oddities (B major, A/C#, Bm7) carried as proposed or disputed tokens; cross-check chart: Christy Moore capo 5, G shapes https://www.guitartabsexplorer.com/moore-christy/lakes-of-pontchartrain-chords . RECORDING: Chief names Daoiri Farrell with Mike Harding ("Madeline Spear" in the tab title); a 2026-10-29 search could not locate that recording -- video id to be added by Chief.

Capo keeps the sounding key and changes the shapes you play; Transpose changes the sounding key. Print uses your browser's "Save as PDF".