The United States of Songs: Illinois
Friday, August 5, 2011
Hi again! We’re chugging right along through our weekly Woot ritual in which I try to find the best song for each state in the country. Today’s a special installment: it’s homecoming day for me, as it’s time for my home state. Again, the rules state the song has to have the name of the state in the title, and it must describe the entire state, not just one part of it. Let’s get to it.
The state: Illinois
The song: “Illinois Blues” by Skip James
This was a hard choice to make. I wanted to do right by the Land of Lincoln (state motto: “At least we’re not Missouri.”), and Illinois is not a state that seems to inspire a lot of songwriting. It’s hard to go wrong with the likes of Skip James, though. Sure, the song is roughly 90 years old, but it still resonates: “Tell everyone Illinois is great!” I don’t know where “Banglin'” is, but it sounds like it must be pretty rough if they’d be impressed by tales of a guy ginning his own cotton. “The people will treat you just so-so.” That’s right. We’re humble Midwesterners, and no one gets special treatment.
This is a song that captures the spirit of driving through the sparsely-populated farmlands OR cruising through Humboldt Park in Chicago. It’s simple and heartfelt, just like the people. Forget about Bruce Willis showing up at The House of Blues for a minute; Illinois has some blues roots of its own: it was a free state that allowed slavery, it hosted the Black Hawk War, its largest city has struggled with crooked politicians pretty much since day 1, and the dude who came up with Mormonism was murdered while in jail there. We’re no strangers to tough times and stories of heartbreak.
But this song isn’t really about heartbreak. It’s about a guy finally finding his way, carving out his niche, and making a claim for himself. And that’s something I think Illinoisans are good at: making do. Sometimes we might have to leave the state to do it, but we do it.
Runner Up: ”Oh Illinois“ by Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
Most Laughable Suggestion: ”Giant of Illinois“ by The Handsome Family
Think I was way off? Got a suggestion for next week’s state, Indiana? Let me know in the comments below.
Flickr photo ComEd power plant, Byron, Illinois by keith011764 used under a Creative Commons License.
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