Illinois is always my home

[Verse 1]
Yeah…
From the heart of the Midwest,
Where the cold winds blow and the real ones grow.
Illinois made me.

[Verse 2]
Born and raised in Illinois, that’s where I got my name,
Where the winter hits hard and the summer brings the flame.
Small-town roads, city lights in the distance,
Learned from an early age you better have persistence.

[Verse 3]
Cornfields on the highway, gravel underneath my feet,
Midwest in my blood with a rhythm in the beat.
I’ve seen good days, I’ve survived bad nights,
But Illinois taught me how to stand up and fight.

[Chorus]
I’m born and raised in Illinois,
Midwest heart, that’s my pride and joy.
From the country roads to the city skyline,
This place put a little bit of steel in mine.
Born and raised where the cold winds blow,
Where you learn to work hard and never let go.
No matter where this crazy life takes me,
Illinois will always be home to me.

[Verse 4]
Down by the river when the evening settles in,
Watching that sunset turn the whole sky red again.
Old dirt roads, porch lights glowing in the dark,
Summer nights and memories that left a permanent mark.

[Verse 5]
Friday night football, headlights in the rain,
Long drives with the radio drowning out the pain.
Friends by my side, laughing like we had forever,
Those were the days I knew I’d never forget ever.

[Verse 6]
Chicago lights shining while the downstate rolls,
Different kinds of people but we all got goals.
From the Mississippi River to the streets downtown,
There’s a little Illinois in every part of my sound.

[Verse 7]
I’ve carried those memories everywhere I’ve been,
The people, the roads, the places I grew in.
You can take me away, but you can’t change my roots,
Illinois is stitched into the soles of my boots.

[Verse 8]
Through the snow, through the rain,
Through the heartbreak and the pain,
Every mile, every road,
Helped create the man I know.
And if tomorrow takes me far away,
I’ll still remember where I came from every day.

[Verse 9]
I remember cold mornings, frost upon the ground,
Mama saying, “Get up,” when the sun wasn’t around.
Hard work in my hands, determination in my chest,
Illinois taught me giving everything my best.

[Verse 10]
There were times I wanted to leave it all behind,
Chase another dream and find another state line.
But every road I traveled, every place I came to see,
Somehow brought me back to what Illinois gave me.

[Chorus]
I’m born and raised in Illinois,
Midwest heart, that’s my pride and joy.
From the country roads to the city skyline,
This place put a little bit of steel in mine.
Born and raised where the cold winds blow,
Where you learn to work hard and never let go.
No matter where this crazy life takes me,
Illinois will always be home to me.

[Verse 11]
So here’s to the highways, the fields and the towns,
To the old familiar places that I still think about.
To every friend, every family, every memory made,
To the roots that time and distance could never take away.

[Verse 12]
I may see the mountains, I may cross the sea,
I may build a whole new life somewhere I’ve never been.
But when somebody asks me where my heart will always be,
I’ll point back to the Midwest and say, “That’s where you’ll find me.”

[Verse 13]
Born and raised, and I’ll say it loud,
Illinois made me and I’m damn proud.
Through every high and every low I’ve known,
This state gave me a place to call my own.

[Verse 14]
I’m born and raised in Illinois,
Midwest heart, that’s my pride and joy.
From the country roads to the city skyline,
This place put a little bit of steel in mine.
Born and raised where the cold winds blow,
Where you learn to work hard and never let go.
No matter where this wild life takes me,
Illinois will always be home to me.

[Verse 15]
Yeah…
From the river towns to the city lights,
From the cornfields underneath those summer skies,
I’ll carry it with me wherever I roam,
Illinois made me…
Illinois is home.