Urbs in Horto
Words and Music by John Slivka, Class of 2023
Once a flat prairie, floating on a sea of clay
Home to the 3 fires, Potawatomi, Odawa, Ojibwe
The French came to trade some furs
And explore the passageways
Dreamt a plan to connect the lake
To the Mississippi Riverway
And the seed was sown
DuSable was the first one in,
Then Americans built a fort
Railroads and a canal next
To use the city’s port
Then the fire burned it down and started a rebirth
People came from all around
To take it for all its worth
And it began to grow
Iron ore from Superior
Lumber from the north
Grain and meat from the west
Money moved back and forth
Some were rich and some were poor
In the Gilded Age
Labor strife and union strikes
Streets filled with rage
And it felt its woes
Millions of people came
To see the City Beautiful
All dressed in white in classical styles
From all around the world
Electric lights lit up the night
They rode the giant wheel
Midway life, what a sight
It all seemed so real
Mountains in the city, masonry, steel and glass
Tell us about the future, tell us about the past
Urban cliff dwellers, living in the sky
In their tiny boxes, watching the world go by
And the city lives on
And the city lives on
And the city lives on
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So proud of our singing Spandrel! Great job, John!
Thanks Maureen!
This is great…….LOVE IT!
Thanks Joan!
Also…..book this man for DAN !
Clever, fun, well written, well performed — and welcome, John, to our community!
Thanks Bill!
All of Fundamentals in one delightful song! Way to go spandrels
Thanks Bobbi!
Thanks Emily for posting this!
John, your words summarized Chicago history and architecture subtly but completely. Loved the words. Will you be a guest performance at my next tour?
Thanks Russ! Playing it for a tour group some time would be a lot of fun!
Please teach this to us all on All Docents Day, Nov. 11!!!!! It’s really a hit. Can you publish it? 🙂
Thanks Ronnie Jo! I may record in a studio some day. Please feel free to share the Youtube video! If anyone is interested in learning to play it, please see the tab for the song below. It’s charted for guitar. Note that I use a Capo on the 1st fret which moves the key up a half step higher (C becomes C# etc.).
Urbs in Horto
Lyrics and Music by John Slivka
Capo 1
C* Csus4 x2
C* Csus 4
Once a flat prairie, floating on a sea of clay
C* Csus 4
Home to the 3 fires, Potawatomi, Odawa, Ojibwe
G
The French came to trade some furs
F
And explore the passageways
G
Dreamt a plan to connect the lake
F
To the Mississippi Riverway
C* Csus4
And the seed was sown
C* Csus4 x2
C*
DuSable was the first one in,
Csus 4
Then Americans built a fort
C*
Railroads and a canal next
Csus 4
To use the city’s port
G F
Then the fire burned it down and started a rebirth
G
People came from all around
F
To take it for all its worth
C* Csus4
And it began to grow
C* Csus4 x2
C*
Iron ore from Superior
Csus 4
Lumber from the north
C*
Grain and meat from the west
Csus 4
Money moved back and forth
G
Some were rich and some were poor
F
In the Gilded Age
G
Labor strife and union strikes
F
Streets filled with rage
C* Csus4
And it felt its woes
C* Csus4 x2
Am
Millions of people came
Em
To see the City Beautiful
Am
All dressed in white in classical styles
Em
From all around the world
Dm
Electric lights lit up the night
Am
They road the giant wheel
Dm
Midway life, what a sight
F G
It all seemed so real
C* Csus4 x2
C* Csus 4
Mountains in the city, masonry, steel and glass
C* Csus 4
Tell us about the future, tell us about the past
G F
Urban cliff dwellers, living in the sky
G F
In their tiny boxes, watching the world go by
C* Csus4
And the city lives on (3 times)
John, Well done indeed! I’ll try it out on my guitar. Thanks for the lyrics and chord progression!
Great song! Yes, teach it to all of us!!!
Thanks Betsy!
I am in awe of your talent, John! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Thanks Emily!
That was wonderful. Should be placed at all important occasions!
Love this John! Thanks for sharing!