| Song | Ballad of the Illinois Opry |
| Artist | REO Speedwagon |
| Album | Building the Bridge |
| 作词 : Cronin | |
| Lyrics：Kevin Cronin Music：Kevin Cronin | |
| 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 |
| zuò cí : Cronin | |
| Lyrics: Kevin Cronin Music: Kevin Cronin | |
| 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 |