Draft:El-A-Noy

"El-A-Noy"
Song
Published	1818 (1818)

"El-A-Noy", is a folk song from the 1800s early on in the history of the State of Illinois. It is said to have been a favorite song of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

Origins

The song was created in the early to mid 1800s when Illinois joined the Union as a state. It was a popular folk song of the time.

Lyrics

1. Way down upon the Wabash, Such land was never known;
If Adam had passed over it, The soil he’d surely own;
He’d think it was the garden He’d played in when a boy,
And straight pronounced it Eden, In the State of El-a-noy.
Then move your famly westward.
Good health you will enjoy,
And rise to wealth and honor
In the state of El-a-Noy.

2. She’s bounded by the Wabash, The Ohio and the Lakes,
She’s crawfish in the swampy lands, The milk-sick and the shakes;
But these are slight diversions And take not from the joy
Of living in this garden land, The State of El-a-Noy.

3. Away up in the northward, Right on the borderline,
A great commercial city, Chicago you will find.
Her men are all like Abelard, Her women like Heloise;
All honest virtuous people, For they live in El-a-Noy.
Then move your family westward, Bring all your girls and boys,
And cross at Shawnee Ferry to the State of El-a-Noy.