"Ram Ranch" is a song by Canadian

outsider music Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who suffe ...

ian Grant MacDonald. The song features a heavy metal musical backdrop with explicit

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spoken-word lyrics about an

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of gay cowboys taking place at the titular ranch. Released in 2012, the song became an

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later in the 2010s, inspiring remixes, parodies, fan-made music videos and reaction videos, and has also been used for

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. In 2022, the song gained mainstream attention for its use by counter-protesters against the

Canada convoy protest A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy (french: Convoi de la liberté, links=no) by organizers, began in early 2022. The initial convoy movement was created t ...

. Since 2018, MacDonald has produced more than seven hundred "Ram Ranch" sequels, expanding on the story by adding new characters and locations.

Background

Little is known about MacDonald, except that he lives in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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, where he records his music. 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 ...

'', MacDonald said he initially created "Ram Ranch" as backlash for being turned away from

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

radio stations for producing

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-themed songs.

Use during Freedom Convoy

The song came to prominence in 2022 during the

. The song was used by counter-protesters to flood

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channels, to

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

protesters attending and organizing the protests. The

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#RamRanchResistance was formed on

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as a means of identifying counter-protesters. MacDonald said he was "totally elated that my song could be used to stand up for science" in response to the use of his song in counter-protesting. On February 14, with the occupation still in progress, MacDonald released an EP, ''Ottawa Truckers'', which referenced both the Ottawa protests and "Ram Ranch". The EP's single 20-minute track was later featured on MacDonald's album ''Truckers''.

References

{{Reflist 2012 songs Canadian hard rock songs COVID-19 pandemic in Canada Fictional farms Gay male erotica Internet memes introduced from Canada Internet memes introduced in 2012 Internet trolling LGBT-related music in Canada LGBT-related songs Novelty songs Outsider music Political Internet memes Protest songs Songs about cowboys and cowgirls Spoken word