Ballad Of The Illinois Opry

Found myself heading down toward Springfield The last sign said it was twelve miles west It's gettin' hard to see through the salt on my windshield But it looks like I'm gonna make it before the sun sets The morning I arrived was Lincoln's birthday So I walked through his house and saw his tomb I decided that a tour through the Civil War Memorial Museum would be a drag I was tired of seeing monuments about other men's doom Now I don't want you people to think that all there is around Springfield Illinois Are landmarks telling `bout the good old Lincoln years Cus just north of town I saw a sign that said the Illinois Opry is open tonight And the sweet sound of country music filled my ears And I want to be a star in the Illinois Opry now The people in the country certainly know how to play It may be a while before I'm ready But I'm gonna be up on that stage someday I could easily write a whole song about the licks that guitar man was pickin' I could go on for hours `bout the old boy on pedal steel But I'm not singing `bout people who were just playin' music I'm singing about how fine their music made me feel There's a lot of people who have taken years of lessons Trying to learn how to make their music fit the trend But the simple folks at the Opry have got somethin' special And I think that we all could use a lesson or two from them And I want to be a star in the Illinois Opry now The people in the country certainly know how to play It maybe a while before I'm ready But I'm gonna be up on that stage someday