Blue Diamonds: The Ballad of the Michigan State Police
It's not as rockin' as 'Miami Vice' or 'Bad Boys,' but the Michigan State Police have their own theme song. "Blue Diamonds" salutes those who wear the badge.
Founded in 1917, the Michigan State Police got their own theme song on their 75th anniversary in 1992. Michigan natives Sean Ryan and David Barrett penned the tune at the request of the Michigan State Police's Media Center. If you want to have a hit, you've got to have a video, and there are at least three iterations floating around YouTube. The third, posted below, is a stirring montage of state troopers in action on land, sea, and air.
The music video for "Blue Diamonds" opens with Michigan State Police badge #1. The, the action begins as recruits are shown running, training in the famous Blue Goose on the traffic course, learning CPR, and firing weapons on the range. Later, proud students are seen walking at graduation in their crisp, blue uniforms and earning the badge of a Michigan State Trooper.
Down from Lake Superior, to the Indiana line
From farm and town and city, we've come so many times
Proud young men and women to answer duty's call
To stand the test to be the best: blue diamonds in the coal
-"Blue Diamonds"
Throughout the video, you get the history of the Michigan State Police, including the first class of 300 cavalrymen. For these vintage photos alone, the nearly five-minute video is worth your time. Watch as troopers go from standard-issue muskets to computers in cop cars more sophisticated than technology that landed a man on the moon. Ultimately, it is the heart, soul, and courage of the men and women behind the badge that deserve our respect.