A few nights ago, I mentioned to David that there are two state legislators in my state (Ohio) who want to make June 14th a state holiday honouring … that former guy.  I said that if they succeed, I will move out of this state, either to Kentucky or Indiana, which led David to recall this song … Indiana Wants Me.  I haven’t thought of or heard this song in decades, but the minute he mentioned it, the song began playing in my mind, my feet began tapping, and I remembered that I used to love this song!  What surprised the heck out of me, though, was finding out that this actually hit #1 in the U.S. and #2 in the UK … I didn’t think it was the sort of song that would make it big in the United Kingdom!

On early copies of this song, it opens with the wail of a police siren, which is later heard during the instrumental bridge. The siren sounded (for its time) was so realistic that some drivers pulled over to the side of the road when they heard the song on their car radios. When the confusion was discovered, Rare Earth (the record company that Taylor was signed with) gave radio stations (particularly those that were too skeptical and/or scared to play the song) a second version without the siren.

When this song, written, composed and recorded by R. Dean Taylor hit the charts, Taylor become one of the few white artists to score a hit for Motown Records. He was already a successful songwriter for the label, with a hand in writing the hit Love Child.  Indiana Wants Me was his only U.S. hit, but in the UK he also scored with Gotta See Jane, There’s A Ghost In My House, and Window Shopping.

Taylor explains the origins of the song …

“I was living in a fleabag hotel and one night I heard these sirens and somebody was breaking in a store below. I looked out and police had surrounded this store and I turned my tape-recorder on. I saw Bonnie and Clyde a couple of times and with those two things that’s how I came to write ‘Indiana’.”

Indiana Wants Me
R. Dean Taylor

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there
Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there
I wish I had you
To talk to

If a man ever needed dyin’, he did
No one had the right to say what he said
About you
And it’s so cold and lonely here without you
Out there the law’s a-comin’
I’m scared and so tired of runnin’

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there
Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there
I wish I had you to talk to

It hurts to see the man that I’ve become
And to know I’ll never see the morning sun shine on the land
I’ll never see your smilin’ face or touch your hand
If just once more I could see
You, our home, and our little baby

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there
Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there

I wish I had you to talk to

I hope this letter finds its way to you
Forgive me, love, for the shame I put you through
And all the tears
Hang on, love, to the memories of those happy years
Red lights are flashin’ around me
Yeah, love, it looks like they found me

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there
Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there
I wish I had you to talk to

Indiana wants me
Lord, I can’t go back there
(Give yourself up)
Indiana wants me
(This is the police, give yourself up)
Lord, I can’t go back there
(You are surrounded)

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: R.d. Taylor