Thinking autobiographically about my life and preferences...for my home town, Knoxville, Illinois and wife and teenage sweetheart M'Len, my childhood friends and anyone with a love of small-town living.

I was born a small-town boy...in the heartland of Illinois Yeah I was raised a small-town kid...living just the way my daddy did I started out in small town school...where the teachers taught us all the Golden Rule I'm just a small-town boy...from the heartland of Illinois Well, I grew up with small-town friends...on whom I knew I could depend And we walked the small-town streets...learned to laugh and love and life was sweet And I met a small-town girl...who changed my life really rocked my world Oh she filled my life with joy...in a small-town in Illinois Give me that small-town life...a big old yard, a picket fence, a house, a wife I love that small town charm...where everywhere you look there's open arms I want some small-town friends...and a decent place where I can raise my kids And I'll raise a girl and boy...in the heartland of Illinois (instrumental) I will die a small-town boy...a grateful heart filled with joy Knowing I was truly blessed...with big time happiness I will always be a small-town kid...'Cause I did it just like daddy did I'm just a small-town boy from the heartland of Illinois Yeah, just a small-town boy...from the heartland of Illinois!