[Chorus]
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

[Verse 1]
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

[Chorus]
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
[Verse 2]
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

[Chorus]
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

[Outro]
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