"Canadian Idiot" is a 2006 song and digital single by American
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
musician
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...
from his album ''
Straight Outta Lynwood
''Straight Outta Lynwood'' is the twelfth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on September 26, 2006, the title drawing inspiration from hip hop group N.W.A's '' Straight Outta Compton''. It was the sixth studio album self-produced b ...
''. It is a parody of
Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
's song "
American Idiot".
The song is a sarcastic parody of the
stereotypical
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
American view of the Canadian way of life and a satire of American
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
. Yankovic pokes fun at an
accentuated Canadian dialect and Canadians' love of
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
,
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
,
macaroni and cheese
Macaroni and cheese (also called mac and cheese in Canada and the United States and macaroni cheese in the United KingdomBBC, RecipesMacaroni Cheese/ref>) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly Cheddar sauce.
The ...
, and
doughnuts
A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...
. At the end of the song, he says that the Canadians are "up to something" and calls for a "
preemptive strike
A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. It ...
".
Although critical reception to the song was mixed, "Canadian Idiot" is among Yankovic's best-charting songs, peaking at 82 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. He included it on the set lists of four of his concert tours, and fans responded with hundreds of homemade music videos.
Composition and themes
"Canadian Idiot" is
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...
's parody of "
American Idiot", a 2004
punk rock anthem
An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
by
Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...
. While the original critiques American media, the parody amusingly mentions several common American stereotypes about Canadians, such as the perception Canadians love
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
,
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
,
doughnuts
A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...
and
macaroni and cheese
Macaroni and cheese (also called mac and cheese in Canada and the United States and macaroni cheese in the United KingdomBBC, RecipesMacaroni Cheese/ref>) is a dish of cooked macaroni pasta and a cheese sauce, most commonly Cheddar sauce.
The ...
.
After ranting about Canadians being stupid and ridiculous, the singer mentions some of the country's positive attributes.
However, believing Canadian over-politeness to be disingenuous and that Canadians are "up to something", the singer calls for a "
preemptive strike
A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. It ...
" against Canada.
Yankovic has said the lyrics reflect the viewpoint of an ignorant American and that the song is "a love letter to Canada".
Yankovic's time in Canada during his career, in particular at cable music channel
MuchMusic
Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults.
MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
, was such that he "felt like an honorary Canadian".
While hoping that listeners understood the song is a joke, Yankovic was a bit worried about how "irony-impaired people" would receive it.
In ''Weird Al: Seriously'', musicologist Lily Hirsch notes the lyrics reprimand Canadians for not being like Americans, and are an ironic look at American
xenophobia
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
.
She notes the line in which the singer admits to being "nervous" about Canada, and how it stands apart from the rest of the song like "a radioed request for help".
Hirsch wrote that the parody had the same energy and drive as the original but its message was more veiled and some missed its irony. She quotes blogger
Nathan Rabin
Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013. : Canadian Idiot' is fundamentally about the way we demonize people who are not like us, even when those differences actually make them better than us, not worse." Illustrating this, Hirsch notes that, like Yankovic's 1992 song "Trigger Happy", "Canadian Idiot" satirizes
gun culture in the United States
In the United States, gun culture encompasses the behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs about firearms and their usage by civilians. Gun ownership in the United States is the highest in the world, and constitutionally protected by the Second Amen ...
. The singer disparages Canadians for not carrying firearms in public places but later refers to the country's low crime rates, "implying a relationship between gun ownership and crime".
Sociologist Shoshana Magnet notes the song's effective use of common but conflicting stereotypes, such as how it "mocks Canadian earnestness ... while paying homage to the continued Canadian commitment to the welfare state".
Andrea Rabaza of the
Independent Learning Centre
TVO ILC (Independent Learning Centre) is the Canadian province of Ontario's designated provider of distance education and the exclusive provider of General Educational Development (GED) Testing in Ontario.
TVO ILC has a mandate from the Ontario ...
wrote that the song approaches the "theme of national identity ... with dark comedy and irony". She also noted its use of
intertextuality
Intertextuality is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text, either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody,Gerard Genette (1997) ''Paratexts'p.18/ref>H ...
and how it remained "light-hearted" by "only talk
ngabout superficial things".
Recording and release
"Canadian Idiot" is the first parody Yankovic recorded for ''
Straight Outta Lynwood
''Straight Outta Lynwood'' is the twelfth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on September 26, 2006, the title drawing inspiration from hip hop group N.W.A's '' Straight Outta Compton''. It was the sixth studio album self-produced b ...
'', with production beginning on 19 February 2006.
The song was released with the album and as a digital single on 26 September 2007.
The song appeared on the ''Billboard'' charts despite not having a physical single in the US.
It peaked at 82 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100,
No. 35 on
Hot Digital Songs
The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally start ...
,
and No. 57 on the
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles s ...
.
Promotional single-CDs of "Canadian Idiot" were pressed in Australia and shipped for play on radio stations.
Live performances
![WeirdAl-Encore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/WeirdAl-Encore.jpg)
"Canadian Idiot" was the second song performed on Yankovic's 2007–08 ''Straight Outta Lynwood''
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
, following a polka medley.
In an interview with ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', Yankovic said of the tracks on the album "Canadian Idiot" was "the most fun to perform live".
Audience response was positive enough that he included the song on the set lists of three subsequent album tours.
During performances of the song on the ''Straight Outta Lynwood'' tour, Yankovic and his band wore black collared shirts and red ties, similar to that which Armstrong wore at ''
American Idiot'' performances and promotions. On subsequent tour performances, Yankovic wore a red-and-white jacket patterned with maple leaves.
The first Canadian performance of the song was to 4,000 fans at the
MTS Centre
Canada Life Centre (formerly MTS Centre and Bell MTS Place) is an indoor arena in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba. The arena is the home of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and their American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
T ...
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on 20 June 2007. Rob Williams of the ''
Winnipeg Free Press
The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...
'' wrote that the polka medley and "Canadian Idiot" were "the perfect way to start" his return to Canada and rated the concert 4 out of 5 stars.
David Schmeichel of the ''
Winnipeg Sun
The ''Winnipeg Sun'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
It is owned by Postmedia following its acquisition of Sun Media, and shares many characteristics typical of Sun tabloids, including an emphasis on local news sto ...
'' wrote that the song was received well, included the
McKenzie Brothers' signature "Call of the Loon" as a chorus and concluded with an explosion of red and white streamers. After the song, Yankovic joked to the audience, "This is the first time we've played that in Canada so thanks for not killing us."
A performance of "Canadian Idiot" at Toronto's
Massey Hall
Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...
on 16 July 2011 is included in the concert video ''
"Weird Al" Yankovic Live!: The Alpocalypse Tour''.
It aired on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
on 1 October 2011
and was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment later that month.
On 19 February 2013, Yankovic performed "Canadian Idiot" with independent artists
Portugal. The Man to close a one-hour telethon-styled webcast announcing the lineup for the
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in ...
.
The song was included in a special free outdoor show of the ''
Mandatory Fun
''Mandatory Fun'' is the fourteenth studio album by American musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. The self-produced album was released by RCA Records in the United States on July 15, 2014, and was the final album on Yankovic's recording contract. Yankovi ...
'' tour on 21 July 2015 at
Place des festivals
Place may refer to:
Geography
* Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population
** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own Municipality, municipal government
* "Place", a type of street or road ...
in Montreal, Quebec, as part of the
Just For Laughs comedy festival.
Despite some early rain, attendance in the public square approached its capacity of 25,000.
Reception
Fan-made music videos
Fans created homemade music videos, ranging from crude animation to choreographed
lip-sync
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.
Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...
hronization, embracing the song's bizarre imagery, which were posted on YouTube. Many of the young filmmakers were admittedly ignorant about Canada, and perhaps also of the song's irony, drawing criticism in YouTube's comment sections.
At the end of 2006, the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' put the song on its "naughty list" for inviting "hundreds of young Americans
o create
O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...
Youtube videos" mocking Canada.
Canadian music channel
MuchMusic
Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults.
MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
ran a contest for the song, calling for entrants to submit a video of themselves being the "ultimate Canadian idiot". Five winning clips were to be shown on ''
Much on Demand
''MuchOnDemand'' (also called MOD) is an hour-long per broadcast viewer interactive television program aired on MuchMusic, Monday through Friday at 5pm ET. It was broadcast live from 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario. ''The Best of M ...
''. Some time after the deadline of 27 December 2006,
the contest was canceled because of a lack of submissions.
Later, an update brought the project back, and the five finalists received digital cameras and a personalized recording from Yankovic.
Critical reception
Critical reception to the song was mixed. David Jeffries of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
applauded "Canadian Idiot" as one of the better contributions on an "inspired" album.
''
The Hamilton Spectator
''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar.
History
''The Hami ...
''s Jeff Mahoney wrote that the song is a great parody and "a delicious shish kebab of Great White North cliches".
Chris Carle of
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
likened the parody to Yankovic giving Canada a spanking.
A review in ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' described the song as a repetitive "one-liner".
Al Shipley of ''
Stylus
A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...
'' called the song a "toothless" send-up of tired Canadian stereotypes.
''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
''s Sam Anderson described the song as "formulaic and calculated" as if generated by a computer.
Scott Shetler of ''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' felt it had "predictable jokes" which had been done better on ''South Park'' with the satirical song "
Blame Canada
"Blame Canada" is a satirical song from the 1999 animated film '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'', written by Trey Parker & Marc Shaiman. In the song, the parents of the fictional ''South Park'', led by Sheila Broflovski (Mary Kay Bergman), ...
".
Chart performance
Legacy
At the
2007 NHL Western Conference Quarter Finals, fans of the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...
voted for "Canadian Idiot" to be played during the intermission of a game against the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
.
The Stars were eliminated.
In 2013 and 2017, ''
Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
'' magazine included "Canadian Idiot" on lists of fictional stories about the beginning of a Canada–US war.
In 2014, ''Billboard'' evaluated "Canadian Idiot" as Yankovic's 10th biggest hit, based on cumulative chart performance.
See also
*
Anti-Canadian sentiment
Anti-Canadian sentiment is hostility towards the government, culture, or people of Canada.
Historical
Voltaire reputedly joked that Canada was "a few acres of snow." He was in fact referring to New France as it existed in the 18th century. The ...
* ''
Being Canadian'' – documentary which examines stereotypes of Canadians
* "
Blame Canada
"Blame Canada" is a satirical song from the 1999 animated film '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'', written by Trey Parker & Marc Shaiman. In the song, the parents of the fictional ''South Park'', led by Sheila Broflovski (Mary Kay Bergman), ...
"
*
Canadian humour
Canadian humour is an integral part of the Canadian identity. There are several traditions in Canadian humour in both English and French. While these traditions are distinct and at times very different, there are common themes that relate to C ...
*
I Am Canadian I Am Canadian was the slogan of Molson Canadian beer from 1994 until 1999 (via ad agencies Maclaren Lintas, then MacLaren McCann), and between 2000 and 2005 (by Bensimon Byrne). It was also the subject of a popular ad campaign centred on Canadian ...
*
Irony
Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique.
Irony can be categorized into ...
*
Ugly American (pejorative)
"Ugly American" is a stereotype depicting American citizens as exhibiting loud, arrogant, demeaning, thoughtless, ignorant, and ethnocentric behavior mainly abroad, but also at home. Although the term is usually associated with or applied to trave ...
Footnotes
Notes
References
External links
"Canadian Idiot" from ''Straight Outta Lynwood''– 4 June 2018, post on Nathan Rabin's Happy Place blog.
at Allthingsyank.com (archived)
Directory of fan-made videosat Weirdal.com
*
{{authority control
2006 songs
2006 singles
American punk rock songs
Canada–United States relations in popular culture
Green Day
Satirical songs
Songs about Canada
Cultural depictions of Canadian people
Songs with lyrics by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Songs written by Billie Joe Armstrong
"Weird Al" Yankovic songs
American pop punk songs
American Idiot