"State Of Illinois" was on my first LP for Kicking Mule Records (now owned by Fantasy Records and unavailable)."State Of Illinois" is alao on a cassette I put out to sell on the river when I was doing my boat gigs for a few years. The name of that cassette recording was Art Thieme -- On The River. I've only got 5 o' those left... No demand, ya know ?
The song was in Carl Sandburg's 1927 book THE AMERICAN SONGBAG
Here's a list of some other Illinois songs you might find intriguing:
"Huzza For Illinois"
(At Belmont (11/7/1861) Illinois troops under Grant marched against Forts Heny and Donelson. Victory over Ft.Donelson was the first one of value to the Northern cause.)
Oh gales that dash the Atlantic's swell along our rocky shores
whose thunders diapason swell New England's glad hurrahs,
Bear to the prairies of the West the echoes of our joy---
the prayer that springs from every breast---God bless thee, Illinois.
Awful hours when grape and shell tore through the unflinching line -
stand firm, remove the men who fell---close up and wait the sign,
It came at last, "Now lads, the steel"-- the rushing hosts deploy,
Charge boys, the broken traitors reel --- HUZZA for Illinois !
HTML line breaks added. -JoeClone, 2-Apr-01.-------------------------------------------------
(Here is a song given to me by Paul Durst, the 93-year-old hobo and I.W.W. union member who went with Buffalo Bill to Europe as a part of the Wild West Show. (I have mentioned him extensively in other threads.)Paul gave me these lyrics on Set. 20, 1961. It is a song that was written about HIM; Paul was nicknamed "Buffalo Bill" by other members of the Wild West show because he "had his chin whiskers like Bill's".
The tune was "The Wabash Cannonball".)
Paul had spent some years playing his fiddle up and down Madison Street---Chicago's "skid road". I.E.---the Chicago and ILLINOIS connection.BUFFALO BILL
There is an old time friend of mine who traveled the hobo way,
From coast to coast--through Canada--so this I heard him say,
He rode the rods, climbed high on top, caught many on the fly,
And cooked his meals in jungle style while watching the trains roll by.Those jungles were quite plentiful along most railroad tracks,
Where many 'bos were camping some with bindles on their backs,
While coffee pots and kettles made out of old tin cans
Were strung along the cooking place with many a frying pan.The reason for his roaming I will try hard to explain,
You see those jobs were far apart and seasonal in the main,
For when the wheat was harvested the apples needed men,
This forced him to the hobo life with many of his kin.Never underrate a hobo who has skill and wisdom too,
And the one I am writing about, he knows just what to do,
When times get tough you'll see him busy entertaining men,
With familiar lines of music played on his violin.So come and see the double of old time Circus Bill,
Drom in some nearby tavern where you'll surely get a thrill,
I know that he'll amuse you while fiddlin' on a string,
But don't forget some silver, just enough to make it ring.This is the early history of one who went through the mill,
He's nicknamed in the cities by the name of Buffalo Bill,
You can find him now on old skid row with a violin in his hand,
Traveling up and down Madison Street---this happy smiling man. _____________________________________________________(Paul Durst could not remember tha name of the fellow who had written this song for him.)
Art Thieme __________________________________________________________FOLKS, THIS LIST COULD BE ENDLESS. THERE ARE SO MANY DECENT AND EVEN GOOD SONGS ABOUT THE AREA I GREW UP IN. BUT IT'S LATE NOW. GOOD NIGHT.
Art Thieme