Today’s story song:

Ludo, “Lake Pontchartrain.”

Not a fan of Ludo? You should be. An earlier EP, Broken Bride, is a weird punk-pop-metal-rock opera about time travel, pterodactyls, and what might be the Antichrist.

Nice thing about the band — and this song — is that, while their music is punk-poppy, it has a great sinister edge, but also doesn’t take itself too seriously, either.

Great example: “Lake Pontchartrain.” A good horror story where the boys are lost down Louisiana way and…

Well. I’ll let the song tell it.

…as usual, I don’t own these lyrics, blah-dee-blah. You can listen to the song at the bottom of the post through Grooveshark.

…

I’ll tell it like it happened, it was Darius and Nolan and me

Just a few po’ boys trying to get up outta Missouri (Misery?)

Took 55 to Louisiana, stopped by the highway to eat

They both had crawfish — 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 kinda 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

Crawfish till 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 driving out of there as fast as a Camry could

But the interstate was flooded and 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 Nolan 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 crawfish were screaming! The waves danced in time.

My friends went in deeper, the water had 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