Talk:The Lakes of Pontchartrain

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I realize that Wikipedia does not promote original research, but I wonder if it is appropriate to point out that this song could not really be about the War of 1812 since there was not a railroad then, which is an integral part of the song. In fact, the New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad opened in 1858 (see New York Times, 1 Apr. 1858). This, along with the line about "I cursed all foreign money, no credit could I gain" suggests it originated in the aftermath of the Panic of 1857, placing it probably around 1858 and certainly no earlier. Bruce E Baker (talk) 23:50, 19 January 2008 (UTC)#

A reasonable correction to make, and I see that you went on to change the article. However, now the article does not make much sense as a whole since at the beginning it is still claiming (erroneously) that this is an Irish ballad. Also that it is about an "Irish immigrant". There is no indication anywhere in the song (or its background) that it is Irish or about an Irish person. It has (in different forms) been in many collections of folk songs from the USA and has been collected there "in the wild" many times. The origins of the song may be obscure, what is quite clear, though, is that it is not Irish.

I'm going to correct the "Irish ballad" wording and remove the reference to an "Irish immigrant". Ecadre (talk) 16:19, 29 April 2013 (UTC)

Jump, Little Children played it in 2002?

This line from the article does not seem to have the significance factor for inclusion in the wikipedia text: "Winston-Salem formed, Charleston-based band Jump, Little Children who is notorious for performing traditional Irish songs and folk-jams during their shows, performed a live version of the song at the Dock Street Theatre on December 29, 2002." I preserve it here for posterity. Gamonetus (talk) 01:35, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Why Lakes if there is only one Lake?

Why Lakes if there is only one Lake? Is it originally Banks of the Pontchartrain and the mistaken word Lakes crept in?

And how does On The Banks Of The Old Pontchartrain (1947, MGM) Hank Williams Ramona Vincent fit in? Even if unrelated is it worth mentioning that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by EdRicardo (talk • contribs) 16:35, 17 January 2012 (UTC)

History

Rise Up Singing gives its earliest source for this song as The New Green Mountain Songster. I have not examined a copy to verify this. A full citation folows:

• Helen Hartness Flanders; Elizabeth Flanders Ballard; George Brown; Philips Barry (1939). The New Green Mountain Songster: Traditional Folk Songs of Vermont. Yale University Press.

The Digital Tradition information is currently alluded to in the article, but here more information. In many cases the recordings cited in a particular thread don't actually correspond to the melody given...I have reassigned them as best I can below:

• Lakes of Pontchartrain ("Lily of the West" tune, Planxty and followers)
• Lakes of Pontchartrain 2
  • Ellen Stekert, Songs of a New York Lumberjack (1958)
• The Lakes of Pontchartrain 3
• Lakes of the Ponchartrain (4)
  • Bill Shute and Lisa Null, Feathered Maiden (1977)
• Unidentified (possible that version 3 is a mistranscription of this performance)
  • Huxtable, Christensen & Hood, Melancholy Babies (1986)

This article has had a lot of gaps and unsourced information for a long time and it's past time to clean it up. Ibadibam (talk) 06:39, 23 July 2019 (UTC)

Here's another interesting note: Gale Huntington; Lani Herrmann (1 June 2010). Sam Henry's Songs of the People. University of Georgia Press. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-8203-3625-1. "[H619: 12 Oct 1935; Laws H9] ... c. 1905, learned [by an Irishman] when a woodsman in America." Ibadibam (talk) 07:21, 23 July 2019 (UTC)