[The heartbreaking] Casimir Pulaski Day ... On the first of March / on the holiday / I thought I saw you breathing. |
Everyone seems really concerned for me now about the prospect. They use this word 'daunting' all the time. |
I do wonder if people aren't just interested in music that has meaning, ... Because there's been an exhaustion through forms and genres, like rock and electronica, doing away with melodies, and I think maybe we're always interested in songs - folk songs, hymns, whatever. Patriotic songs with strong melodies. It's the basis of what I'm doing, just focusing on traditional songwriting. |
I do wonder if people aren't just interested in music that has meaning, ... Because there's been kind of an exhaustion through forms and genres, like rock and electronica, doing away with melodies, and I think maybe we're always interested in songs - folk songs, hymns. Whatever. Patriotic songs with strong melodies. It's kind of the basis of what I'm doing now, just focusing on traditional songwriting. |
I don't want to compromise the personal narrative for the overarching abstract generalizations about the United States as a whole, ... That's a real conflict in my vision. I think sometimes [ Illinois ] is a little unbalanced, where its affiliation with Illinois historically is compromised for the sake of the stories. And I think it's better to do that, anyway. I'm more comfortable with storytelling than I am with history or politics. |
I think it just helps us to feel kind of unified, |
I think the implausibility in some ways redeems me from having to complete it. |
I think you should be suspicious when there's a lot of interest in what you're doing, |
I was working on several states simultaneously. The tone of the music for Illinois seemed much more exciting and challenging to me. The music itself seemed to evoke a very big character. |
It just helps us to feel unified, |
It puts us in the attitude of respect for our audience. It's important on every level to have a kind of attitude of unification in some way. I don't have that naturally. I'm not a great performer, so we have to do everything we can, do the exercises, to prepare. |
It's really about a sensory experience and getting fully involved and entrenched in the pageantry of Illinois, |
It's really about a sensory experience and getting fully involved and fully entrenched in the pageantry of Illinois. |
Oh the glory when he took our place / But he took my shoulders and he shook my face / And he takes and he takes and he takes, |
Or the 4-H Club. |