"actually, it began one innocent evening in 2000 while I was waiting for my girlfriend to get ready to go out to dinner.... i had 15 minutes to kill, and I had this book of old folk songs laying around.... i flipped it open, and because I can't read music, I started making up my own version of a song from the 1800's.... this lead me to eventually create 28 of these types of "imagined" songs over a period of months, and I had a lot of fun writing them... songs about Jesse James and hearses rolling by with broken hearted lovers and the like....

out of these 28 there was one song that struck a deep nerve with me personally called "el-a-noy," a folk song from the 1860's about settlers coming into Chicago.... because of the personal nature of the lyrics and the lonesome and hopeful quality of this city, it seemed to resonate more deeply within me.... somewhere along the way, because of that one connection, I hatched the idea to assemble a whole group of songs that would be linked by the spirit of Chicago, because I think that this town is truly indescribable.... it is an odd mix of violence, pioneer recklessness, unbridled capitalism, undying hope, and if you have ever been here during the winter, death and endless rebirth.... at the bottom of all of it though, is that I really love this place!!" -BC blog, 2004/04/08

come you sinners/tread light
remember from where you came
let your body, hollow
forget her singsong name
it doesn't matter/if you love her
just don't leave your shame
in el-a-noy, el-a-noy, el-a-noy

if you can see me/and hear my voice
within these lake bound vines
all down the wabash/rushing past
dead drunk and living time
your stories/are forgotten
your tales unkind
in el-a-noy, el-a-noy
el-a-noy, el-a-noy, el-a-noy

one day i will leave/someday i will go
i won't come back, no
to el-a-noy, el-a-noy

restless children/in our streets
let your love run blind
lay your burdens/at her feet
seek what you must find
in every answer/that beholds you
with every heart aligned
in el-a-noy, el-a-noy, el-a-noy

as a jewel/in her crown
sits chicago town
shining beacon/of a dream
that brought the stars right down
let our skies fill/with steel titans
let the dream be ours
in el-a-noy, el-a-noy
el-a-noy, el-a-noy, el-a-noy

one day i will leave/someday i will go
i won't desire so/of el-a-noy, el-a-noy

come you sinners/tread low
leave your past behind
for her winners/dead night
you can stand inside
let your body/be hers now
let your soul unwind
in el-a-noy, el-a-noy
el-a-noy, el-a-noy
el-a-noy

El-A-Noy   (Zwan-era version)

BC solo-era lyrics, as printed in lyric booklet from 2004/04/19 Metro show.