Last update: February 6, 1997
So move your family westward
Good health you will enjoy
And rise to wealth and honor
In the state of Illinois
...
She's bounded by the Wabash
the Missouri and the Lakes
There's quicksand in her swampy lands
and in her fields there's snakes
But these are slight diversions
and do not spoil the joy
of living in this paradise
the state of Illinois
"The State of Illinois", from the play "Spoon River Anthology" (if my memory serves me well)