Bradley student Sydney Alpers shares a lyrical analysis of the Prairie Fire That Wanders About from Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album Illinois, connecting the song to Peoria’s history.

Illinois by Sufjan Stevens was meant to be one of fifty, an album for each of the states. While he later admitted the entire premise was a joke to promote Illinois, the album is anything but.

Relevant to Peorians is track 13, “Prairie Fire That Wanders About”. It begins with bells and the Illinoisemaker Choir singing in rounds, “Peoria! Destroyia!/Infinity! Divinity!”.

The rhyme scheme conjures imagery appropriate to the title, the listener can instantly picture a fire spreading across Midwestern plains which are often so expansive they seem infinite and holy. The choir continues, “For Lydia! Octavia!/And Jack-of-Trades! The Cubs! Hooray!”.

Sufjan uses references specific to Peoria, Lydia Moss Bradley is the founder of Bradley University. Octavia Geans Vivian was a civil rights activist who worked at the Washington Carver Community Center. Jack Brickhouse, Jack-of-Trades, was a Peoria native who commentated Cubs games.

Drums are added as the choir sings, “The Opera House/Where Emma sang!/America! Oh will it play?”, a nod to Emma Abbott’s 1868 performance at the Peoria Opera House, which burned down in 1909.

“Will it play in Peoria”, originated during the vaudeville era, performers would judge whether a show would do well throughout the states if it was well-received there. The choir, still in rounds, sings “And Santa Claus!/The Great Parade”, an allusion to the longest-running parade in the country, and rhymes with “Peoria!/You have it made”, where it takes place.

An instrumental break brings back bells, then the choir starts in unison to sing “Into the crossfire/Faithfully run/Middle America/One on one/Peoria/We saddle the fun times”.

Sufjan’s musical message comes full circle, combining fiery imagery with religious motifs to explain Peoria as a Midwestern town with lots to discover.