John Oliver enlisted the help of Will Ferrell on Sunday night’s (October 27) Last Week Tonight to introduce a new song to be played at U.S. naturalization ceremonies.
As Oliver pointed out on Sunday’s show, when someone becomes a United States citizen, their naturalization ceremony includes a rendition of “God Bless the USA” performed by country singer Lee Greenwood. However, the comedian thought it might be time for a replacement, not least because Donald Trump has somewhat hijacked the song.
“I am intimately familiar with the U.S. immigration process, having finally become a citizen in 2019,” Oliver said. “It was a long, stressful process capped by a moving naturalization ceremony.”
“While Lee Greenwood has repeatedly claimed his song is apolitical, he definitely isn’t,” the late-night host added. “Honestly, I’m not sure why it’s being played at ceremonies at all? Not just contractually or even musically, but because Greenwood’s past remarks about immigrants have been, to say the least, off-message.”
John Oliver is sick of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” being played at U.S. naturalization ceremonies, so he created an alternative—with help from Will Ferrell. pic.twitter.com/UnW7hFBVoS— LateNighter (@latenightercom) October 28, 2024
With that, Oliver offered up a new song that is “genuinely unique to this country” and “celebrates the nation you Americans are about to join and the process that they’ve been through, also while not soft-pedaling some hard truths about it.”
Describing it as “the perfect song… performed by an actual American treasure,” Oliver stated, “Not only will we not charge the government $700 a year for it — we’re not a**holes. We’ll actually pay them $700 a year.”
Oliver then threw to the music video, which saw Anchorman star Ferrell in a bar wearing a cowboy hat and singing with a country twang.
“It’s corn dogs and apple pie/ Fireworks lighting up the sky/ Nascar, rodeo, barbecue/ That stuff’s American/ Now so are you,” Ferrell began before saying, “I think it’s time to mention our flaws.”
“Televangelists and fossil fuels/ Metal detectors in all our schools/ Private prisons and Mountain Dew/ That stuff’s American/ Now that’s your problem too,” the Saturday Night Live alum continued.
He added, “Student debt and CTE/ The war on drugs, Scientology/ Boeing airlines and Ted f****** Cruz/ They’re all American and now so are you.”
Ferrell was joined by a choir, marching band, cheerleaders, a giant American flag, and the Chuck E. Cheese mascot as he brought the song to a close.
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“This was beautiful. I teared up a little,” commented one fan on X.
“I just can’t express how much I f****** loved this,” said another.
“Incredible. It touched my newly American heart,” another added.
Another wrote, “This is brilliant!”
What do you think of Oliver and Ferrell’s new U.S. anthem? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Sundays, 11/10 c, HBO
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