Weekend in Western Illinois

Weekend in Western Illinois
Album	Full Force Galesburg
Released	1997
Artist	the Mountain Goats
Length	2:43
Previous Track	"Twin Human Highway Flares"
Next Track	"US Mill"

Weekend in Western Illinois is the ninth song on the album Full Force Galesburg.

Lyrics

The land's opening up like a blanket
And the dandelions spread themselves thickly out
Along the fields, which are evidently endless
And we are hotly in love with one another
We've got an unquenchable thirst in our throats
We are for some reason all the time bleeding
And we are friendless

And we love these dogs that roll on the lawns here in Galesburg
Because they seem to know something nobody else knows
It is written in the smiles on their faces
And it rings in their high young voices
We are burning up all of our choices up here
Where the tall grass grows
Up here in Galesburg 

The sky's opening up like an old wound
And the rain on our bodies is warm tonight
And the ground underneath us shakes in the cracking thunder
We can taste fresh blood in our mouths again
There is no chance of getting enough of it
And we tally up all our possessions, we're going under

Yeah we love these dogs that loll in the rain here in Galesburg
As the new season rocks them in its terrible arms
Yeah they howl as though the world were ending
As we are watching the sky unwinding
And some of our promises were binding up here where our dreams take form
Up here in Galesburg
Up here in Galesburg

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song

• "The train pulled up at Galesburg and I saw a dog in somebody’s backyard across the tracks, and I had this vision of getting off the train and disappearing into Galesburg... Ridiculous romantic stuff that wouldn’t work out like it seems in that half-minute of what-if.” -- 2016-09-27 River Cities' Reader interview
• In a KJHK radio interview from 1997, John talked about how this song and It's All Here in Brownsville are both about border towns and why he finds them interesting.

Live Shows this Song Was Played at

• 1997-03-02 - KJHK-Lawrence Session - Lawrence, KS
• 1997-04-04 - Duke Coffeehouse - Durham, NC
• 1997-06-14 - Zoot's - Detroit, MI
• 1998-02-06 - Cow Haus - Tallahassee, FL
• 1999-01-23 - High Hat Blues Club - Athens, GA
• 2001-06-23 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• 2001-08-03 - 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA
• 2002-03-10 - The Green Room - Iowa City, IA
• 2004-04-20 - Go! Rehearsal Studios, Room 4 - Carrboro, NC
• 2007-06-17 - Zoop - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
• 2009-06-14 - Zoop II - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY
• 2010-06-05 - The Badlander - Missoula, MT
• 2010-07-31 - Holidays for Quince Benefit - The Pinhook - Durham, NC
• 2014-05-02 - Kresge Recital Hall - Knox College - Galesburg, IL
• 2014-06-13 - Bottom of the Hill - San Francisco, CA
• 2015-04-23 - Mr. Small's - Millvale, PA
• 2016-09-18 - Rams Head Live - Baltimore, MD
• 2021-12-17 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
• 2023-02-11 - The Loud - Huntington, WV
• 2024-04-13 - The City Center - Champaign, IL
• 2024-08-02 - Phantom Power - Millersville, PA

Videos of this Song

• 1999-01-23 - High Hat Blues Club - Athens, GA
• 2014-05-02 - Kresge Recital Hall - Knox College - Galesburg, IL