Born Richard Dean Taylor on the 11th May 1939 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, he began his career in 1961 as a pianist and singer with several bands in Toronto. He also made his first recordings in 1961, for the Audiomaster record label. The next year, Taylor's "At the High School Dance", a single for Amy-Mala Records, was a minor success. His next single, "I'll Remember", on the Barry label, reached number twenty-three for Toronto rock -and-roll radio station CHUM, and the singer decided to relocate to Detroit, Michigan to further his career.
In Detroit, Taylor was hired by Motown Records in 1964 as a songwriter and recording artist for the Motown subsidiary V.I.P. label. Taylor's scheduled first single (March 1964) for V.I.P. was the topical satire "My Ladybug (Stay Away from That Beatle)", but it was deemed too weak for release and was never issued.
It was not until November 1965 that Taylor's debut V.I.P. single, "Let's Go Somewhere", was issued. It was written by Taylor in conjunction with Brian Holland, and produced by the team of Holland and Lamont Dozier, who had already produced five number-one songs for The Supremes. However, the song was only a regional success, in several U.S. cities and Toronto.
Taylor's next single (1967's "There's a Ghost in My House") was written by the team of Holland–Dozier–Holland along with Taylor, and again produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. It was also a commercial disappointment in the U.S., but it reached number three in the U.K. in 1974. Taylor was also beginning to become a songwriter for other acts; for example "I'll Turn to Stone" by the Four Tops and "All I Need" by The Temptations were both charting U.S. singles in 1967, co-composed by him.
In 1968, Taylor's self-produced single "Gotta See Jane", (co-written with Brian Holland), became a top-twenty hit in the UK. However, his real success came as a member of the Motown writing and production team known as "The Clan". This production group were briefly the prime creators of material for Diana Ross & the Supremes after the Holland/Dozier/Holland team left Motown. Among Taylor's successful co-compositions and co-productions during 1968/69 as a member of The Clan were Diana Ross & the Supremes' number-one U.S. release "Love Child" and their number-ten releaset "I'm Livin' in Shame".
Taylor resumed his recording career in 1970, becoming one of the first artists assigned to Motown's new subsidiary Rare Earth, which was dedicated to Caucasian artists. In that year his first Rare Earth single, "Indiana Wants Me", reached number one in his native Canada. It reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number two in the U.K.. "Gotta See Jane" was also reissued in 1971, and became a top-ten success in Canada. His 1972 single "Taos, New Mexico" did not do well on the Canadian charts.
Taylor continued recording for Rare Earth, and working as a writer/producer for other artists until Rare Earth was ended in 1976. Though he never again scored the charts as he had done with "Indiana Wants Me", his releases did moderately well, especially in Canada. As a Canadian citizen, he could be played on CKLW and other Canadian radio stations and counted towards the stations' Canadian content quotas.
Taylor attempted a comeback during the early 1980s, after which he had a hiatus from the music industry. He has recently established his own record company, Jane Records.
Taos New Mexico
R. Dean Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We have lots of cartels here
And we don't have
That bitch ass place called Fresno
Don't expect
To be here unless you're gone before (We don't have to do crystal meth)
He will make you sure (According to a tv show)
Of it (That came out in 1964)
We are allergic (You'll be here till you're gone)
To chicken
Allergic to chicken guy
Allergic to chicken guy
Allergic to chicken guy
Allergic to chicken guy
Don't believe everything that you read (Don't let them tell you what you mean)
Don't let them believe your fear, tell them (They can't even sing to bed)
Their children
They can't sing their children to bed
They can't even sing their children to bed at night
When they're screaming and crying
Don't sing your children to sleep
The song's melodies
Sing nothing but
Truths
Awaken your babies
When you're putting them to sleep
Tell them fluoride
Is weak
It's not good for your teeth (It's not good)
It's bad for your heart (Bad for your heart)
Tell your children (You can't breathe)
That the government has come to get them (Until you start)
You're alive, you're alive and again
We're close enough to Nevada (You're alive inside this pen)
To eat an enchilada (Enchilada time)
While we put our children to bed (Guilty pray)
And sing them their songs (To god)
They will not hear and they'll die (They will scream)
When they're thirteen (Thirteen)
From the mountains (Floating like the proteins in your eye)
From the mountains (Aye yay yay)
Ai yaiyaiyaiyai
Ai yaiyaiyaiyai
Ai yaiyaiyaiyai
Ai yai-yai
Ai yaiyaiyai
Ai yaiyaiyai
Ai yai yai yai
Ai yai yai yai yai
Ai yaiyaiyai
The lyrics to R. Dean Taylor's “Taos New Mexico” are both cryptic and enigmatic, and they appear to convey a jumbled array of thoughts and ideas that could be difficult to make sense of. However, if one delves deeper into the lyrics, one can perceive a range of elusive themes and an underlying cautionary message. In essence, the lyrics appear to be a warning for people to be vigilant and not always trust everything they read or hear.
The opening lines invite the listener to the beautiful Taos New Mexico, a state that is suffering from cartel-related issues, infamous for drug-related activities. The next verse in the song appears to caution the listeners to be aware of the ‘truths,' as not everything we hear is genuine. Taylor urges the listener to sing the ‘truths' to awaken their children and not rely on the songs' melodies. Thus, the lyricist appears to be seeking to dissuade the listener from blindly accepting whatever they hear or read and instead to seek their realities actively.
In general, "Taos New Mexico" by R. Dean Taylor seems to have an abstract meaning, but the context of the song is significant since it encourages people to be mindful of what they digest and seek the truth by themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Come on down to New Mexico (To New Mexico)
Join us in New Mexico
We have lots of cartels here
We have a high presence of drug trafficking organizations
And we don't have
That bitch ass place called Fresno
We don't have to deal with a place like Fresno
Don't expect
To be here unless you're gone before (We don't have to do crystal meth)
Don't come here with the intention of doing crystal meth, leave before doing it
He will make you sure (According to a tv show)
Of it (That came out in 1964)
A TV show from 1964 warned us about the dangers of crystal meth
Don't believe everything that you read (We don't have any men that made chicken)
Don't trust everything you read, we don't have any notable chicken factories
We are allergic (You'll be here till you're gone)
To chicken
We have an aversion to chicken, being here until you leave
Allergic to chicken guy
Allergic to chicken guy
Allergic to chicken guy
Allergic to chicken guy
Our aversion to chicken is very real and consistent
Don't believe everything that you read (Don't let them tell you what you mean)
Don't believe everything you read and don't let others tell you what to think
Don't let them believe your fear, tell them (They can't even sing to bed)
Their children
Don't let others scare you, instead tell them to put their children to bed
They can't sing their children to bed at night
When they're screaming and crying
Their inability to comfort their children reflects their lack of parenting skills
Don't sing your children to sleep
The song's melodies
Sing nothing but
Truths
Don't just sing your children to sleep, sing them truthful melodies
Awaken your babies
When you're putting them to sleep
Tell them fluoride
Is weak
Teach your children about the potential risks of fluoride in toothpaste
It's not good for your teeth (It's not good)
It's bad for your heart (Bad for your heart)
Tell your children (You can't breathe)
Fluoride can lead to dental and heart problems and can cause breathing issues in children
That the government has come to get them (Until you start)
You're alive, you're alive and again
Warn your children about potential government interference until they start living for themselves
We're close enough to Nevada (You're alive inside this pen)
To eat an enchilada (Enchilada time)
We're close enough to Nevada to enjoy some enchiladas
While we put our children to bed (Guilty pray)
And sing them their songs (To god)
While we tuck our children in and sing to them, we can't help but feel guilty and pray to God
They will not hear and they'll die (They will scream)
When they're thirteen (Thirteen)
Despite our efforts, our children will face their own struggles and may not listen, leading to their own demise
From the mountains (Floating like the proteins in your eye)
From the mountains (Aye yay yay)
Our voices and struggles echo through the mountains
Ai yaiyaiyaiyai
Ai yaiyaiyaiyai
Ai yaiyaiyaiyai
Ai yai-yai
Ai yaiyaiyai
Ai yaiyaiyai
Ai yai yai yai
Ai yai yai yai yai
Ai yaiyaiyai
An expression of emotion and passion, capturing the spirit of New Mexico
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: crochdeck reenhoom
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bruce Wayne
beyond bloody brilliant ... Blessings R DEAN !!!
sauquoit13456
On this day in 1972 {April 9th} "Taos New Mexico" by R.Dean Taylor entered Billboard's Top 100 chart at position #89, the following week it rose to #86, and then on it's third and final week on the Top 100 it peaked at #83...
It reached #28 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
Besides "Taos New Mexico", the Toronto, Canada native had three other Top 100 records; "Indiana Wants Me"* {#5 in 1970}, "Ain't It A Sad Thing" {#66 in 1971}, and "Gotta See Jane" {#67 in 1971}
Richard Dean Taylor will celebrate his 80th birthday next month on May 11th, 2019...
* "Indiana Wants Me" peaked at #2 {for 1 week} on the United Kingdom's Singles chart, and the week it was at #2, the #1 record for that week was "Knock Three Times" by Dawn...
turnpike01
Thank you for that.
Ian Stuart
@turnpike01 Very cool. Dawn eventually became Tony Orlando and Dawn!!
Viperkal
1972 was a great year for some of the most incredible music ever recorded!
Drew B
Yep. Loved the 70s 👍
reuireuiop0
Early seventies also were great years for girls called Maria. Never gonna leave Maria alone, in this here song, or the one in Take a letter, Maria, or the other one called Marie, in is this the way to Amarillo, and a couple I'm forgetting - like, the Day I met Marie.
Nice thing, my mum happens to be named Maria too
jeff werner
i love the rare gems you put up on YT.....you and I are probably alike in our musical tastes..I'm constantly searching for the songs that I remember even though they may never have charted very high. this is a classic exampleTY for uploading it. jeff.
brownhorse98
This is a gem of a song and what a picturesque place!! You captured the essence of this song with a SUPERb video!!Way to go!!
75surfgirl
Once again I'm 15 years old, eating breakfast, and listening to WIP. What great music and memories. Thank you!!!