He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
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.
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.
Lyrics submitted by risefromtheashes
Lake Pontchartrain Lyrics as written by Marshall Fanciullo Andrew Volpe
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't really understand what all this discussion about what the crawfish symbolize. I think he uses the crawfish the same way he uses the idea of po'boys, bayou, and the Choctaw Motel. There's classic touristy Louisiana things. He's trying to prove to the listener that he is indeed in South Louisiana driving toward Lake Pontchartrain. (Though the way he gets there in the story is rather circuitous.)
As for the lake monster, that's just for fun.