Lake Pontchartrain - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

In music:

• The traditional song "On the Banks of the Pontchartrain" has been recorded by such artists as Hank Williams, George Jones, Amos Garrett, D.L. Menard, Blue Mountain (band) and Doug Sahm.
• The Lakes of Pontchartrain, a variation on the above traditional song, was arranged and recorded by Irish singer Paul Brady & Christy Moore, both solo and with Planxty, The Be Good Tanyas, Jim Smoak, The Coronas & The Louisiana Honeydrippers and Deanta.
• Nanci Griffith performs "Banks of the Pontchartrain", a song that she composed, on her album The Last of the True Believers.
• "Pontchartrain" is the title of a song on the album Dreaming Through the Noise by Vienna Teng. The lyrics reference bodies in the lake and lost memories.
• "Pontchartrain" is the title of a song composed and recorded by Jelly Roll Morton.
• The lake is mentioned in a verse of "Heart of the Night," American country rockers Poco's ode to New Orleans, from their album Legend.
• In the Jimmy Buffett song, "Breath In, Breathe Out, Move On" from his album Take the Weather with You, Pontchartrain is mentioned twice in reference to flooding and hurricanes.
• Sonny Landreth's song "Soldier of Fortune" from his album Outward Bound mentions the Pontchartrain.
• George Strait mentions the Pontchartrain several times in his song "Adalida" from his album Lead On.
• The Lost Trailers have a song "Fire on the Pontchartrain" from their album Welcome to the Woods.
• Lake Pontchartrain is mentioned in the song "Long Overdue for a Miracle" in the musical Whistle Down the Wind.
• Lake Pontchartrain is briefly mentioned in the song "Feels Like Rain", by John Hiatt from his album Slow Turning, and by Buddy Guy from his album Feels Like Rain
• Lake Pontchartrain is mentioned in the Lucinda Williams songs "Lake Charles" from her album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, and "Crescent City" from Lucinda Williams.
• "Lake Pontchartrain" is a song in the album A Good Life from Joe Grushecky in 2006.
• "Lake Pontchartrain" is the title of a song by the band Ludo, from their album You're Awful, I Love You. The song describes a man who finds himself by the lake with two of his friends,when his friends eat the local crawfish they are drawn to the lake where they are devoured by the lake itself. However, this is actually a alibi for his murder of said friends.
• Sheryl Crow's song "Love Is Free" from her album Detours mentions the Pontchartrain.
• Aaron Watson mentions Lake Pontchartrain in his song "Heaven Help the Heart" from his album Shutupanddance.
• Blue Mountain (band) mentions Lake Pontchartrain in their song "Lakeside" from their album Tales of a Traveler.
• The song "Broke Down" by Slaid Cleaves from his album Broke Down mentions Lake Pontchartrain in the second verse.
• The song "Death and Hell" from the album The Road Goes on Forever by the country supergroup The Highwaymen, featuring Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, mentions the Pontchartrain.
• Scottish Singer/Songwriter Roddy Frame refers to Pontchartrain in his song "Bigger Brighter Better" from his album "The North Star"
• Lake Pontchartrain and New Orleans is the setting of the song "Heart Of The Night" by Paul Cotton from the 1978 album Legend by the country rock band Poco.
• "Dorraine of Ponchartrain" is a song from the 1960 Johnny Cash concept album Ride This Train.
• Catie Curtis mentions Lake Ponchartrain in the extended final chorus of her song "People Look Around" in the album "Long Night Moon."
• Emmylou Harris mentions Lake Pontchartrain in her song "New Orleans" on the album "Hard Bargain".
• Mary Chapin Carpenter song "Houston" from her 2007 album "The Calling" mentions Lake Pontchartrain ("I stood up on the banks / And looked out over Pontchartrain").

In other media:

• In the 2004 video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, one mission involves a chase across the lake on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.
• The lake is also featured in the 1993 PC game Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers.
• It is featured in the 2003 film The Haunted Mansion, to identify the area's location.
• Lake Pontchartrain is mentioned repeatedly in the novel Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill.
• Blanche DuBois and Harold Mitchell visit Pontchartrain Beach amusement park at the beginning of Scene Six in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.
• Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt see the sunrise on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
• The lake used in the 2011 thriller Shark Night 3D is based on Lake Pontchartrain.
• The lake is mentioned in episode three season one of Supernatural as a lake that was haunted and had supposed sightings of a lake monster.