On the Banks of the Old Ponchartrain


On the Banks of the Old Ponchartrain is a song written by Hank Williams and Ramona Vincent. It was the singer's second single on MGM Records, released in September 1947.

Background

According to biographer Colin Escott, Ramona Vincent, a crippled woman, wrote the words of the song as a poem and sent it to Williams, who put a melody to it.. The song was paired with Fred Rose's novelty "Fly Trouble", resulting in perhaps the oddest single the singer ever released. The song was recorded at Castle Studio in Nashville on August 4, 1947 with Rose producing. Williams was backed by Tommy Jackson, Hermon Herron, Sammy Pruett, Slim Thomas, and Lum York. Hank had scored his first Billboard hit with "Move It on Over" but "On the Banks of the Old Ponchartrain" bombed. As Escott notes:
The song tells the story of a criminal who escaped from a west Texas prison and stopped for a rest on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain where he falls in love with an unnamed woman only for him to be captured by a policeman and sent back to the prison he previously escaped from.

Cover versions