Come you sinners, tread low   Leave your past behind   For the winners, dead night   You can't stand inside   Let your body be hers now   Let your soul unwind      Illinois, Illinois   Illinois      If you can see me, hear my voice   Within these lake-bound binds   Down the Wabash, rushing past   Dead drunk in living time   Your stories, I've forgotten   Your tales, unkind      Illinois, Illinois   Illinois, Illinois, Illinois   Illinois      One day I will leave   Some day I will go   I won't come back home   To Illinois, Illinois      Restless children in a street   Let your love run blind   Lay your bodies at our feet   Seek what you must find   With every answer that beholds you   With every heart of line      Illinois, Illinois   Illinois, Illinois   Illinois      As a jewel in a crown   Since Chicago-town   Shining beacon of a dream   That brought the stars right down   Let our skies fill with steel   Let the dream be ours      Illinois, Illinois   Illinois      One day I will leave   Some day I will go   I won't desire soon      Illinois, Illinois      Come you sinners, tread light   Remember from where you came   Let your body hollow   Forget her sing-song name   It doesn't matter if you love her   Just don't leave your shame      Illinois, Illinois   Illinois, Illinois   Illinois