Illinoise: A New Musical Soundtrack Album Lyrics

Illinoise: A New Musical Soundtrack Lyrics

My Brightest Diamond - Three Stars (or, Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois)
Original Cast of Illinoise - The Long Hike
Elijah Lyons - Come On! Feel the Illinoise!
Tasha - Jacksonville
My Brightest Diamond - Zombies
My Brightest Diamond - John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Tasha - The Man of Metropolis
Elijah Lyons - Decatur
Elijah Lyons - Chicago
Original Cast of Illinoise - To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament
Elijah Lyons - Casimir Pulaski Day
Elijah Lyons - Prairie Fire That Wanders About
Elijah Lyons - The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!
Elijah Lyons - In This Temple, as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth
My Brightest Diamond - The Seer’s Tower
Elijah Lyons - Chicago (Reprise)
Elijah Lyons - The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders
Original Cast of Illinoise - Epilogue

My Brightest Diamond - Three Stars (or, Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois)

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

When the revenant came down
We couldn't imagine what it was
In the spirit of three stars
The alien thing that took its form
Then to Lebanon, oh God
The flashing at night, the sirens grow and grow
Ooh, history involved itself
Mysterious shade that took its form
Or what it was, incarnation, three stars
Delivering signs and dusting from their eyes
Ooh, ooh

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Original Cast of Illinoise - The Long Hike

[Instrumental]

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Elijah Lyons - Come On! Feel the Illinoise!

[ Featuring My Brightest Diamond, Tasha, Original Cast of Illinoise ]

[The World's Columbian Exposition]

Oh, great intentions
I've got the best of interventions
But when the ads come
I think about it now

In my infliction
Entrepreneurial conditions
Take us to glory
I think about it now

Cannot conversations cull united nations?
If you got the patience, celebrate the ancients
Cannot all creation call it celebration?
Or united nation, put it to your head

Oh, great white city
I've got the adequate committee
Where have your walls gone?
I think about it now

Chicago, in fashion
The soft drinks, expansion
Oh, Columbia!
From Paris, incentive
Like Cream of Wheat invented
The Ferris Wheel!

Oh, great intentions
Covenant with the imitation
Have you no conscience?
I think about it now

Oh, God of Progress
Have you degraded or forgot us?
Where have your laws gone?
I think about it now

Ancient hieroglyphic or the South Pacific
Typically terrific, busy and prolific
Classical devotion, architect promotion
Lacking in emotion, think about it now
[Bridge]
Chicago, the New Age
But what would Frank Lloyd Wright say?
Oh, Columbia!
Amusement or treasure
These optimistic pleasures
Like the Ferris Wheel!

Cannot conversations cull united nations?
If you got the patience, celebrate the ancients
Columbia!

[Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream]

I cried myself to sleep last night
And the ghost of Carl, he approached my window
I was hypnotized, I was asked to improvise
On the attitude, the regret
Of a thousand centuries of death

Even with the heart of terror and the superstitious wearer
I am riding all alone
I am writing all alone
Even in my best condition
Counting all the superstition
I am riding all alone
I am running all alone

And we laughed at the beatitudes of a thousand lines
We were asked at the attitudes
They reminded us of death

Even with the rest belated, Everything is antiquated
Are you writing from the heart?
Are you writing from the heart?
Even in his heart, the Devil has to know the water level
Are you writing from the heart?
Are you writing from the heart?

And I cried myself to sleep last night
For the Earth, and materials
They may sound just right to me

Even with the rest belated, everything is antiquated
Are you writing from the heart?
Are you writing from the heart?

Even in his heart, the Devil has to know the water level
Are you writing from the heart?
Are you writing from the heart?
Last Update: June, 04th 2024

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Tasha - Jacksonville

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

I'm not afraid of the black man running
He's got it right, he's got a better life coming
I don't care what the captain said
I fold it right at the top of my head
I lost my sight and the state packs in
I follow my heart and it leads me right to Jackson

Oh, Keller, oh, oh, oh
She gave us a medal, she gave us a map
Oh, Canner Row, oh, oh, oh
If seeing is right, then look where you're at

I'm not afraid of Nichols Park
I ride the train and I ride it after dark
I'm not afraid to get it right
I turn around and I give it one more try
And I said things that I meant to say
The bandstand chairs and the Dewey Day parade
I go out to the golden age
The spirit is right and the spirit doesn't change

Oh, Keller, oh, oh, oh
She gave us a mirror, she gave us a map
Oh, Canner Row, oh, oh, oh
If seeing is right, then look where you're at

Andrew Jackson, all I'm asking
Show us the wheel and give us the wine
Raise the banner, Jackson hammer
Everyone goes to the capitol line
Colored preacher, nice to meet you!
The spirit is here and the spirit is fine!
Education, ask the nation
You gave us our sight and the hearing is fine
Andrew Jackson all I'm asking
Show us the wheel and give us the wine

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My Brightest Diamond - Zombies

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S!
Ring the bell and call or write us
I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S!
Can you call the Captain Clitus?
(Who will save it?)
Logan, Grant, and Ronald Reagan
(Dedicate it?)
In the grave with Xylophagan
(Who will praise it?)
Do you know the ghost community?
(Commemorate it for you?)
Sound the horn, address the city

We are awakened with the axe
Night of the living dead at last
They have begun to shake the dirt
Wiping their shoulders from the earth
I know, I know the nation's past
I know, I know they rust at last
They tremble with the nervous thought
Of having been, at last, forgot

I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S!
Ring the bell and call or write us
I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S!
Can you call the Captain Clitus?
(Who will save it?)
B-U-D-A! Caledonia
(Dedicate it?)
S-E-C-O-R! Magnolia
(Who will praise it?)
B-I-R-D-S! And Kankakee
(Commemorate it for you?)
Evansville and Parker City

Speaking their names, they shake the flag
Waking the earth, it lifts and lags
We see a thousand rooms to rest
Helping us taste the bite of death
I know, I know my time is passed
I'm not so young, I'm not so fast
I tremble with the nervous thought
Of having been, at last, forgot

I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S!
Ring the bell and call or write us
I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S!
Can you call the Captain Clitus?
(Who will save it?)
Comer and Potato Peelers
(Dedicate it?)
G-R-E-E-N Ridge! Reeders
(Who will praise it?)
M-C-V-E-Y! And Horace
(Commemorate it for you?)
E-N-O-S! Start the chorus

Corn and farms and tombs in Lemmon
(Who will save it?) I know, I know the nations past
Sailor Springs and all things feminine
(Dedicate it?) I know, I know they rust at last
Centerville and Old Metropolis
(Who will praise it?) They tremble with the nervous thought
Shawneetown, you trade and topple us
(Commemorate it for you?) Of having been, at last, forgot
I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S!
(Who will save it?) I know, I know the nations past
Hold your tongue and don't divide us
(Dedicate it?) I know, I know they rust at last
I-L-L-I-N-O-I-S!
(Who will praise it?) They tremble with the nervous thought
Land of God, you hold and guide us
(Commemorate it for you?) Of having been, at last, forgot

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My Brightest Diamond - John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

His father was a drinker
And his mother cried in bed
Folding John Wayne's t-shirts
When the swingset hit his head
The neighbors they adored him
For his humor and his conversation
Look underneath the house there
Find the few living things, rotting fast, in their sleep
Oh, the dead
Twenty-seven people
Even more, they were boys
With their cars, summer jobs
Oh my God
Are you one of them?

He dressed up like a clown for them
With his face paint white and red
And on his best behavior
In a dark room on the bed
He kissed them all
He'd kill ten thousand people
With a sleight of his hand
Running far, running fast to the dead
He took off all their clothes for them
He put a cloth on their lips
Quiet hands, quiet kiss on the mouth

And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floor boards
For the secrets I have hid

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Tasha - The Man of Metropolis

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

One two three four
Two two three four

Trouble falls in my home
Troubled man, troubled stone
Turn a mountain of lies
Turn a card for my life

Man of steel, man of heart
Tame our ways, if we start
To devise something more
Something halfways

Only a steel man came to recover
If he had run from gold, carry over
We celebrate our sense of each other
We have a lot to give one another

I took a bus to the lake
Saw the monument face
Yellow tides, golden eyes
Red and white, red and wise

Raise the flag, summer home
Parted hair and part unknown
If I knew what I read
I'll send it halfways

Only a real man can be a lover
If he had hands to lend us all over
We celebrate our sense on each other
We have a lot to give one another

Took my bags, Illinois
Dreamt the lake took my boy
Man of steel, man of heart
Turn your ear to my part

There are things you have said
Raise the boat and raise the dead
If you take us away
Still we can say

Only a steel man can be a lover
If he had hands to tremble all over
We celebrate our sense of each other
We have a lot to give one another
Only a steel man can be a lover
If he had hands to tremble all over
We celebrate our sense of each other
We have a lot to give one another

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Elijah Lyons - Decatur

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

1, 2, 3, 4

[Matt Morgan & Sufjan Stevens]
Our step mom we did everything to hate her
She took us down to the edge of Decatur
We saw the lion and the kangaroo take her
Down to the river where they caught a wild alligator

Sangamon River it overflowed
It caused a mudslide on the banks of the operator
Civil war skeletons in their graves
They came up clapping in the spirit of the aviator

The sound of the engines and the smell of the grain
We go riding on the abolition grain train
Stephen A. Douglas was a great debater
But Abraham Lincoln was the great emancipator

Chickenmobile with your rooster tail
I had my fill and I know how bad it feels
Stay awake and watch for the data
No small Caterpillar, go congratulate her

Denominator, go Decatur, go Decatur
(It's the great I Am)
Abominate her, go Decatur, why did we hate her?
(It's the great I Am)
Denominator, go Decatur, anticipate her
(It's the great I Am)
Appreciate her, appreciate her
Stand up and thank her

Stand up and thank her
(It's the great I Am)
Stand up and thank her
(It's the great I Am)
Stand up and thank her
(It's the great I Am)
Stand up and thank her

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Elijah Lyons - Chicago

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

I fell in love again
All things go, all things go
Drove to Chicago
All things know, all things know
We sold our clothes to the state
I don't mind, I don't mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mind set
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

I drove to New York
In a van, with my friend
We slept in parking lots
I don't mind, I don't mind
I was in love with the place
In my mind, in my mind
I made a lot of mistakes
In my mind, in my mind

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mind set
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

If I was crying
In the van, with my friend
It was for freedom
From myself and from the land
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes
I made a lot of mistakes

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mind set
All things know, all things know
You had to find it
All things go, all things go

You came to take us
All things go, all things go
To recreate us
All things grow, all things grow
We had our mind set (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things know, all things know (I made a lot of mistakes)
You had to find it (I made a lot of mistakes)
All things go, all things go (I made a lot of mistakes)

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Original Cast of Illinoise - To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament

[Instrumental]

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Elijah Lyons - Casimir Pulaski Day

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

Goldenrod and the 4H stone
The things I brought you when I found out
You had cancer of the bone

Your father cried on the telephone
And he drove his car into the Navy yard
Just to prove that he was sorry

In the morning, through the window shade
When the light pressed up against your shoulderblade
I could see what you were reading

All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications you could do without
When I kissed you on the mouth

Tuesday night at the Bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens

I remember at Michael's house
In the living room when you kissed my neck
And I almost touched your blouse

In the morning at the top of the stairs
When your father found out what we did that night
And you told me you were scared

All the glory when you ran outside
With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied
And you told me not to follow you

Sunday night when I cleaned the house
I find the card where you wrote it out
With the pictures of your mother

On the floor at the great divide
With my shirt tucked in and my shoes untied
I am crying in the bathroom

In the morning when you finally go
And the nurse runs in with her head hung low
And the cardinal hits the window

In the morning in the winter shade
On the first of March, on the holiday
I thought I saw you breathing
All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications when I see His face
In the morning in the window

All the glory when He took our place
But He took my shoulders and He shook my face
And He takes and He takes and He takes

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Elijah Lyons - Prairie Fire That Wanders About

[ Featuring My Brightest Diamond, Tasha, Original Cast of Illinoise ]

Peoria! Destroy-a!
Infinity! Divinity!

For Lydia, Octavia!
And Jack-of-Trades!
The Cubs hooray!

The Opera House
Where Emma sang!
America! Oh will it play?

And Santa Claus!
The Great Parade!
Peoria!
You have it made!

Into the crossfire
Faithfully run
Middle America
One on one
Peoria!
We saddle the fun times

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Elijah Lyons - The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

Thinking outrageously I write in cursive
I hide in my bed with the lights on the floor
Wearing three layers of coats and leg warmers
I see my own breath on the face of the door

Oh I am not quite sleeping
Oh I am fast in bed
There on the wall in the bedroom creeping
I see a wasp with her wings outstretched

North of Savanna we swim in the Palisades
I come out wearing my brother's red hat
There on his shoulder my best friend is bit seven times
He runs washing his face in his hands

Oh how I meant to tease him
Oh how I meant no harm
Touching his back with my hand I kiss him
I see the wasp on the length of my arm

Oh great sights upon this state! Hallelu-
Wonders bright, and rivers, lake. Hallelu-

We were in love. We were in love
Palisades! Palisades!
I can wait. I can wait
[Backing - Simultaneous to above]
Trail of Tears and Horseshoe Lake. Hallelu-

We were in love. We were in love
Palisades! Palisades!
I can wait. I can wait
[Backing - Simultaneous to above]
Trusting things beyond mistake. Hallelu-

[Horn breakdown]

We were in love. We were in love
Palisades! Palisades!
I can wait. I can wait

We were in love. We were in love
Palisades! Palisades!
I can wait. I can wait
[Backing - Simultaneous to above]
Lamb of God, we sound the horn. Hallelu-

We were in love. We were in love
Palisades! Palisades!
I can wait. I can wait
[Backing - Simultaneous to above]
Unto us your ghost is born. Hallelu-

I can't explain the state that I'm in
The state of my heart, he was my best friend
Into the car, from the back seat
Oh, admiration in falling asleep
All of my powers, day after day
I can tell you, we swaggered and swayed
Deep in the tower, the prairies below
I can tell you— the telling gets old
Terrible sting and terrible storm
I can tell you the day we were born
[Backing - Simultaneous to above]
Oh great sights upon this state! Hallelu-

My friend is gone, he ran away
I can tell you, I love him each day
[Backing - Simultaneous to above]
Wonders bright, and rivers, lake. Hallelu-

Though we have sparred, wrestled and raged
I can tell you I love him each day
[Backing - Simultaneous to above]
Trail of Tears and Horseshoe Lake. Hallelu-

Terrible sting, terrible storm
I can tell you...
[Backing - Simultaneous to final stanza]
We were in love. We were in love
Palisades! Palisades!
I can wait. I can wait
[Backing - Simultaneous to final stanza]
Trusting things beyond mistake. Hallelu-

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Elijah Lyons - In This Temple, as in the Hearts of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth

[ Featuring My Brightest Diamond, Tasha, Original Cast of Illinoise ]

[Instrumental]

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My Brightest Diamond - The Seer’s Tower

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

In the tower above the earth
There is a view that reaches far;
Where we see the universe
I see the fire, I see the end

Seven miles above the earth
There is Emmanuel of mothers
With His sword, with His robe
He comes dividing man from brothers

In the tower above the earth, we built it for Emmanuel
In the powers of the earth, we wait until He rails and rails.
In the tower above the earth, we built it for Emmanuel
Oh, my mother, she betrayed us, but my father loved and bathed us

Still I go to the deepest grave
Where I go to sleep alone

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Elijah Lyons - Chicago (Reprise)

[ Featuring Original Cast of Illinoise ]

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Elijah Lyons - The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders

[ Featuring My Brightest Diamond, Tasha, Original Cast of Illinoise ]

[The Great Frontier]

[Sufjan Stevens]
I count the days the Great Frontier
Forgiving, faced the seventh year
I stand in awe of gratefulness
I can and call forgetfulness

[Sufjan Stevens & Shara Worden]
And when I, and when I call
The Patient, the Patient fall
The Spirit, the Carpenter
Invites us to be with her

[The Illinoisemaker Choir]
What have we become America?
Soldiers on the Great Frontier
Carpenter and soldier, one on one
It's the battle, volunteer

[The Illinoisemaker Choir & (Shara Worden)]
The prairie, the frontier, the perfect farm, it's from here
(Run from yourself, from your friends)
The fortress, the faker, the cornerstone, the baker
(Run for your life, for your friends)
The dancer, the fisher, audition and the disher
(America)
The boxer, the fetcher, the chewing gum, dream catcher
(Oh, Illinois)

[Sufjan Stevens]
I count the days the Great Frontier
Forgiving, faced the seventh year
I stand and strain to make ends meet
Five Spirits on the Grand Marquee

[Sufjan Stevens & Shara Worden]
And when I, and when I call
The Patient, the Patient fall
The Spirit, the Carpenter
Invites us to be with her

[Sufjan Stevens & Tom Eaton]
There was a man at the wall
He was grateful for us all
I saw the wise woman sing
She wasn't asking anything
She wasn't asking anything
How she made the nations sing!

[Shara Worden & The Illinoisemaker Choir]
What have we become America?
Soldiers on the Great Frontier

[The Illinoisemaker Choir & (Shara Worden)]
The mattress, the floozies, the actress at the movies
(Run from yourself, from your friends)
The lantern, the lotion, the wind that wakes the ocean
(Run for your life, for your friends)
The Standard Addition, the architect's rendition
(America)
The fashion, the fevers, the house we got at Sears
(Oh, Illinois)
[Instrumental]

[Come to Me Only With Playthings Now]

[Sufjan Stevens, Shara Worden & (Katrina Kerns)]
Oh Great Fire of Great Disaster
Oh Great Heaven, oh Great Master
Oh Great Goat, the curse you gave us
Oh Great Ghost, protect and save us
Oh Great River, green with envy
Oh Jane Addams, spirit send thee
Oh Great Trumpet and the singers
(Given what you lost are you better off)
Oh Great Goodman, King of Swingers
(Given what you had, has it made you mad)
Oh Great Bears and Bulls, Joe Jackson
(Celebrate the few, celebrate the new)
Oh Great Illinois
(It can only start with you)

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Original Cast of Illinoise - Epilogue

[Instrumental]

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Back to: Illinoise

Illinoise: A New Musical Info:

(buy at amazon.com)

Illinoise is a 2023 dance revue musical with music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens and an original story by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury.

The musical was inspired by Stevens' 2005 album Illinois.

The musical follows some friends relating stories around a campfire about their childhoods and growing up; a newcomer to the group, Henry, finally shares how being gay affected his early relationships and friendships.

After a summer festival premiere, regional production and off-Broadway tryout, the show debuted on Broadway in April 2024 at the St. James Theatre; these productions have all been directed and choreographed by Peck.

Reviews on Broadway were positive, and the musical received four nominations at the 77th Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Genre(s): Musical, Soundtrack
Released: May 31st, 2024
Year: 2024

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