5 great songs that make Indiana home

Cornfields, the Indianapolis 500 and John Mellencamp are just three things I love about Indiana. True, the yearly ice storms and high heat indexes can be annoying, but Indiana is so unique in its given right.

Whether you have been here your whole life or just the years you’ve spent at IU, Indiana is a home to us all.

That’s why I’ve collected five great songs about Indiana and why this is such a great state to live in

1. “Goin’ Back to Indiana” by the Jackson 5

This track, first performed and recorded in 1971, has all the Jackson 5 elements anyone would expect. It’s an upbeat tune that everyone can sing along with. “I’m going back to Indiana, Indiana here I come” is repeated again and again, and I can’t stop chanting every time I hear the song.

2. “Indiana’s Angel” by Brantley Gilbert

If you know me, you know I don’t know much about country music. However, this song, released this August with Gilbert’s album “Modern Day Prodigal Son,” is a lovely portrait of a woman who has left her home in Indiana. The more I listen to this song, the more I love it.

3. “Indiana” by Jon McLaughlin

This song, similar to Gilbert’s, can be somewhat of a tearjerker. Released in May 2007, the album, also titled “Indiana,” is a beautiful ballad for the state and shows McLaughlin’s love for his home.

4. “Indiana Christmas” by Straight No Chaser

I can’t write this column without including one of my favorite musical talents who started right in Bloomington. This Christmas a capella carol, released in “Holiday Spirits” last year, should be on every Indiana native’s playlist during the holiday season.

5. “Indiana Fight!” by the IU Marching Hundred

Maybe it’s my strong school spirit, but this song means everything Indiana to me.
My school, my home and my experiences as I work through college are represented in the school fight song.

It’s a song that everyone will carry with them wherever they end up after graduation.
There are many more songs about Indiana, some of which are more cheerful than others, but all of them allude to the cornfields and green pastures that make Indiana our home.