‘We must stand up, use our voices’: Chantal Kreviazuk changes ‘O Canada’ lyrics at 4 Nations final
In protest to Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, Krevaziuk changed the national anthem lyrics before the game that saw Canada win against the U.S.
Canadian singer Chantal Kreviazuk surprised fans by tweaking the lyrics of “O Canada” at the 4 Nations Face-Off final where Canada beat the U.S in overtime play on Thursday night.
The lyrics “in all of us command” were changed to “that only us command,” during Kreviazuk’s performance at TD Garden arena in Boston.Â
Kreviazuk apologized if her performance “rubbed you the wrong way” and later emphasized the sovereignty of Canada in a post to her
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“Art to me is an expression of our truth. and in this very peculiar and potentially consequential moment i truly believe that we must stand up, use our voices and try to protect ourselves … no — we should express our outrage in the face of any abuses of power. i was raised in part by music that was inspired by brave voices committed to peaceful conflict resolution,” Kreviazuk said in her post.Â
Kreviazuk also posted a picture of the new lyrics written on her hand, along with Canadian flag to her .
Chantal Kreviazuk posted a photo of the lyrics “that only us command” written on her hand to her Instagram story.Â
chantalkrev/Instagram
“We have a culture individual to others. we are united in our values. we care. we’re kind. we are strong,” she continued in her post.
Her publicist confirmed with the Star that the lyric change was intentional amid annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kreviazuk is a Winnipeg-born singer and songwriter who has been awarded the Order of Canada and who has also won three Juno awards throughout her career.
Her performance of the national anthem was initially booed by fans in Boston after “The Star-Spangled Banner” was jeered at the tournament in Montreal last week.Â
That was an interesting version of the Canadian national anthem...
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff)
The opening lines were met by boos from the American crowd, but was slowly taken over by support as the crowd began to sing along, leading to a loud cheer at the end.
Kristjan Lautens is a staff reporter, working out of the Star’s
radio room in Toronto. Reach him via email: klautens@thestar.ca
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