[Verse 1]
Thirty miles in the Gulf Stream
Hear the south wind moan
Bridges are getting lower
The shrimp boats, comin' home
The old man down in the Quarter
Slowly turns his head
He takes a drink from his whiskey bottle
And this is what he said

[Chorus]
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, 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, yeah

[Verse 2]
A man come down from Chicago
He's gonna set that levee right
He said "It needs to be at least three feet higher
"Yeah, 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'll be down by the morning
And he'll be back to Illinois
[Chorus]
'Cause 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, devil's daughter
She's hard, she's cold, and she's mean
Nobody taught her it takes a lot of water
To wash away New Orleans, yeah

[Verse 1]
Thirty miles in the Gulf Stream
Hear the south wind moan
Bridges are getting lower
The shrimp boats, comin' home
The old man down in the Quarter
He slowly turns his head
He takes a drink from his whiskey bottle
And this is what he said

[Chorus]
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, devil's daughter
She's hard, she's cold, and she's mean
Nobody taught her it takes a lot of water
To wash away New Orleans
New Orleans, yeah