1. Marquette and Joliet

In 1673 the French governor of Canada sent Louis Joliet to find out where
The Mississippi River led
Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit father who spoke many Indian languages,
Would come along to teach the Natives what Jesus said

Marquette and Joliet, they mapped out Illinois
Marquette and Joliet, they helped spread Christian joy

They paddled across Lake Michigan, into Green Bay, in a couple of birchbark canoes
They took Wisconsin rivers, 'til they reached the Mississippi
Then they floated down, past the southern tip of Illinois

When they were sure the Mississippi flowed to the Gulf of Mexico
They turned their canoes around
They paddled up the Illinois and Desplaines rivers, they barely made a sound
They made it back safe to the shores of Lake Michigan
What do you think about that?
They returned to Canada with exciting news:
The soil was rich, the land was flat

They had visited Native villages along the way
Father Marquette had promised them he'd return some day
Three years later, you know that he kept his promise, and started up the first mission in Illinois

2. The Ballad of Jean DuSable

In the 1760s a Black Frenchman came up from New Orleans
His name was Jean Baptiste DuSable, he had the ways and means
He came from New Orleans, he had the ways and means
So raise your glass to Jean DuSable, the founder of Chicago

He lived with the Illini Indians and then the Potawatomi
He married Kittihawa and joined the family
He met the Potawatomi, he joined the family, so ...

In 1700 and 79 DuSable and his wife
Came up to the shores of Lake Michigan to start a brand new life
DuSable and his wife began a brand new life, so ...

They built a house, a barn, two stables, a workshop, a smokehouse and mill
They started up a trading post with lots of nice things to sell
They built a house and a mill, they had lots of nice things to sell, so ...

French and English and Indian traders all came to DuSable's post
DuSable's settlement was the start of the city of Chicago
DuSable's trading post became Chicago, so ...

3. Starved Rock

Along the Illinois River, there's a beautiful state park
Inside the park is a high, flat boulder that they call Starved Rock
And this is how Starved Rock got its name

By 1767, the Illini alliance of Indians had lost much of their power
A small group of Illini was surrounded by the Iroquois while on top of that tower
But they knew that their enemies couldn't reach them, 150 feet above the water

Starved Rock

To get water they used long vines to drop their drinking vessels into the Illinois River
But their plan didn't work;
Their enemies cut the vines each time they lowered them down into the water
I think you know how this story ends; if you don't it's gonna make your backbone quiver

One by one, the Illini died from lack of water and food.

They chose to starve themselves rather than give themselves up to their enemies.

4. Nauvoo (City of Joseph)

We came to Illinois seeking religious freedom
When we lived in Missouri we'd been threatened and attacked
We crossed the Mississippi and we started a new city
We built a might temple and we never looked back

Nauvoo, the City of Joseph
Nauvoo, the Promised Land
Nauvoo, the Mormon Metropolis
Just as the Lord planned

Joseph Smith was our prophet
For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Our town of 15,000 was bigger than Chicago
Made of bricks and mortar, plaster and paint

But the Gentiles [non-Mormons] hated and feared us
And threatened our very lives
They accused us of polygamy -
Having multiple wives
They arrested Joseph Smith and his brother
They were criminals, that's what they said
An angry mob broke in the Carthage jail
And shot our prophet dead

We left Illinois for a land called Utah
Under the leadership of Brigham Young
We left behind the City of Joseph and followed the setting sun
But now we have Salt Lake City
So raise your voices higher
Sing this song about the town of Nauvoo
With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

5. Who Was Abraham Lincoln?

In 1800 and 30, Abe Lincoln came to Illinois, when he was just a boy
Live had been hard in Indiana, so his family decided to move,
They had heard about Illinois' rich soil
They bought a farm near Decatur
Then Abe was hired to help
Take a flatboat down, to New Orleans

In 1800 and 32, he fought in the Blackhawk War
Then he went to work in a store in New Salem
When he was not busy, he spent hours reading and studying
And talking to people passing through
He was honest, friendly and brave
So they called him Honest Abe
Then he worked as the postmaster and surveyed

In 1800 and 34 he was elected to the general assembly
of the State of Illinois
Too poor to pay for a ride, he once walked a hundred miles
from New Salem to the capital in Vandalia

As a representative he made his first speeches against slavery
He became a lawyer and married Mary Todd
He wanted to preserve the United States of America
He believed in one nation, indivisible, under God

In 1800 and 58 his debates with Stephen Douglas
Brought him to national attention
And as you know, Abe Lincoln was the first Illinoisan to be elected
President ... of the USA

6. Nelson and Simone

My name is Simone de Beauvoir and I am a writer from France
But was in Chicago, Illinois, that I found my great romance
I wrote the book "The Second Sex" and lived with Jean Paul Sartre
But it was in the Windy City where I truly lost my heart

My name is Nelson Algren and I live in Wicker Park
I wrote "Walk on the Wild Side" and "The Man With a Golden Arm"
In 1947 she visited my town
I served as her tour guide and I showed her around

It was love at first sight, I'd found my destiny
I took her to see things most people never see
Prostitutes and gamblers, junkies, pimps and thieves
The insane asylum and the penitentiary

She lived in my apartment in Chicago's Polish quarter
We went to police line-ups and hung around in bars
At the age of 40 I'd discovered sex, and with it love of life
He lived with me in Paris and I called myself his wife

We went to Guatemala, Africa and Spain
But I missed Chicago, so I moved back home again
I wrote him many letters, but I could not leave Sartre
So Nelson finally decided that we should be apart

And I live in Chicago
And I'm in Gay Paree
But sometimes when I'm lonely, I think about what used to be

7. George Ryan

Now I'm a dyed in the wool Democrat
But there's a man from Kankakee who really knows where it's at
He's with the Grand Old Party, but that doesn't make him a fascist
He's got progressive politics that put him at the top of my hip list
He was the governor of Illinois in the last decade
His name is George Ryan, without even trying
He's the coolest Republican since Honest Abe


He won the election and hit the ground running
With a public works initiative to show folks folks he wasn't funning
He spent money to improve the state in a powerful burst
What was the name of this initiative? Illinois FIRST!
Improving infrastructure from Galena down to Carbondale
Him name is George Ryan, from Cairo to Zion, he's the ...

Well, he supported gun control 'cause he wanted to get guns off the street
And he took a trip to Cuba 'cause he thought Fidel Castro was pretty neat
He knew the death penalty was unjust so he declared a moratorium
I can't believe he's party mates with Rick Santorum

Now I know what you're thinking, "How about the Licenses for Bribes scandal?
Shouldn't George be in jail, just like his campaign manager Scott Fawell?"
But I say George was innocent, I mean it wasn't his fault
So you should take those allegations with a generous grain of salt
Anyway, that was long ago when he was Secretary of State,
His name is George Ryan, and unless he's lying, he's
The coolest Republican (with the possible exception of Teddy Roosevelt) since Honest Abe!

8. Rock Island

Moline! Davenport! Bettendorf! But you need one more to make the four Quad Cities!

Well there's a town out west where the young people know how to rock
They drive their pick-up trucks to the Mississippi river dock
And have a good time 'til just about 12:00

They dance and they party and they listen to the radio
And they stare at the stars and the Mississippi River boats
I'm telling you girl, there's only one place that we oughta go

Chorus:
I'm gonna take you down to Rock Island, it's a rock and roll paradise
Rock Island, and you know I'm gonna treat you nice

They stored ammunition in Rock Island During World War I
During World War II, they also made a lot of guns
Visit the Rock Island Arsenal Museum if you wanna have some fun

Well Rockford, Illinois, is the home of Cheap Trick
And Homewood, Illinois, is the home of the rock band Styxx
Champaign-Urbana's where the Speedwagon got their kicks
But I'm gonna take you down to Rock Island