CHICAGO SONG
The mail order stores are gone,
Montgomery Ward and Sears,
The Union stockyard's been gone for almost fifty years.
The great Union depot doesn't look the same to me
The old ethnic neighborhoods aren't what they used to be
But it's still Chicago wherever you look
Beautiful Chicago: a man could write a book.
The orange line to the southwest,
and the blue line and the green
And the red line by the Lake where Reds are seldom seen
You got your Brown Line to the Northwest, and your
Purple Line to the north,
And your Green line to the Southside
where the blues come forth
It's still Chicago. Sweet Chicago home.
Beautiful Chicago, a man could write a poem.
You might cook with copper kettles imported from France,
And drive a Jaguar and wear silk underpants
And $300 jeans and a thousand-dollar shirt
But people in Chicago will still treat you like dirt.
It's still Chicago. A democratic town
They like seeing a proud man fall down.
It's the town of John Prine, Frank Lloyd Wright,
Studs Terkel.
Oprah, Mahalia, a whole charmed circle.
Bill Murray, Michael Jordan, Barack Obama, Scott Turow.
Harold Ramis, Ramsey Lewis, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo.
All Chicago. Chicago right or wrong.
Beautiful Chicago. A man could write a song.
I would rather take the El than ride in limousines:
The El will teach you more about what life really means.
Comedy and loneliness, anger and joy.
It's all an education in Chicago, Illinois.
Still Chicago. On the Lake Shore
Beautiful Chicago. Who could ask for more?