Thirty miles on the Gulf Stream I hear the south wind moan The bridges getting lower The shrimp boats coming home The old man down in the Quarter Slowly turns his head Takes a sip from his whiskey bottle And this is what he said I was born in the rain on the Pontchartrain Underneath the Louisiana moon I don't mind the strain of a hurricane They come around every June The high black water, a devil's daughter She's hard, she's cold and she's mean But nobody taught her, it takes a lot of water To wash away New Orleans Man came down from Chicago He gonna set that levee right He says, "it needs to be at least three feet higher It won't make it through the night" But the old man down in the Quarter He said "don't you listen to that boy The water be down by the morning And he'll be back to Illinois" I was born in the rain on the Pontchartrain Underneath the Louisiana moon I don't mind the strain of a hurricane They come around every June The high black water, a devil's daughter She's hard, she's cold and she's mean But nobody taught her, it takes a lot of water To wash away New Orleans Thirty miles on the Gulf Stream I hear the South wind moan Bridges getting lower The shrimp boats coming home The old man down in the Quarter Slowly turns his head Takes a drink from his whiskey bottle And this is what he said I was born in the rain on the Pontchartrain Underneath the Louisiana moon I don't mind the strain of a hurricane They come around every June High black water, a devil's daughter She's hard, she's cold and she's mean But nobody taught her, it takes a lot of water To wash away New Orleans I was born in the rain on the Pontchartrain Underneath the Louisiana moon I don't mind the strain of a hurricane They come around every June The high black water, a devil's daughter She's hard, she's cold and she's mean But nobody taught her, it takes a lot of water To wash away New Orleans Nobody taught her, it takes a lot of water To wash away New Orleans