Ram Ranch

Last updated
"Ram Ranch"
Ram Ranch cover 2012.jpeg
Song by Grant MacDonald
ReleasedAugust 30, 2012 (2012-08-30)
Genre
Length6:49
Songwriter(s) Grant MacDonald, Alexander Rybakov [1]

"Ram Ranch" is a song by Canadian musician Grant MacDonald. Released in 2012, it is a heavy metal song with explicit lyrics about a large orgy of gay cowboys taking place at the titular ranch. The song was originally created by MacDonald as a protest against radio stations based in Nashville, Tennessee, which rejected his previous country music for having homosexual themes. The song went viral in 2016, becoming popular in Internet meme culture and prompting MacDonald to create over 700 sequels. The song was used by counter-protestors during the 2022 Canada convoy protest, where they flooded communication networks between protestors with the song and created the "Ram Ranch Resistance", which itself led to the creation of more internet memes.

Contents

Background and composition

"Ram Ranch" was created by Grant MacDonald, a musician from Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Prior to creating "Ram Ranch", MacDonald was responsible for making numerous songs that depicted same-sex themes. Some of these songs composed by MacDonald include "Cum God" and "Prince Harry's 12-Inch Cock." [2] He was also responsible for directing and producing gay male erotica films. [3] Upon attempting to pitch three songs depicting love between two cowboys to radio stations based in Nashville, Tennessee, his work was rejected. [3] [4] MacDonald viewed this as homophobia in the country music industry, and created "Ram Ranch" in 2012 out of spite, describing it as a "protest song" in an interview with Rolling Stone . [2] [5] In a separate interview with BuzzFeed News , MacDonald stated the song was made as an example of "how gay country music could be." [6]

"Ram Ranch" is nearly seven minutes long and is based upon a royalty-free power metal instrumental titled "Flying Through the Sky", composed by Russian musician Alexander Rybakov under the stage name Anubys. [1] The loudly shouted lyrics of the song depict a story of eighteen gay cowboys having sex with each other on the titular Ram Ranch. The lyrics feature explicit phrases such as "eighteen naked cowboys wanting to be fucked", and "big, hard, throbbing cocks waiting to be sucked." [2]

Impact

Around 2016, "Ram Ranch" went viral, and became popular in Internet meme culture. As the song rose in popularity, a fan requested that MacDonald create a sequel. He was originally hesitant to do so, stating that it would've been "like Pink Floyd putting out Dark Side of the Moon 2", though he did eventually create "Ram Ranch 2." He continued to make numerous sequels to "Ram Ranch", and by February 2022, he had made over 540 sequels to "Ram Ranch". [2]

"Ram Ranch Resistance"

In 2022, the song was used during the Canada convoy protest (also known as the "Freedom Convoy") by counter-protestors. [3] The song was used to troll those attending and organizing the protests, primarily by flooding their Zello channels with the song's intro. [6] [4] According to Rolling Stone, the song was chosen to make fun of the Dodge Ram trucks used by the protestors, as well as to subvert their patriotism since MacDonald was Canadian. [2] As the song increased in prominence throughout the protests, the "Ram Ranch Resistance" was formed on Twitter, whose members identified themselves as "ranchers." [2] [6]

The "ranchers" continued to sabotage Zello channels with the song, with one of the channels having nearly 2,000 members. This specific use of the song was attributed to helping end a protest near Windsor, Ontario due to its disruptive use. [2] [6] According to Twitter user @NoelleNarwhal, the user that first started the "Ram Ranch Resistance", at least three Zello channels were shut down using the song. [2] The "Ram Ranch Resistance" also led to the creation of a charity site dedicated to businesses affected by the protests, numerous internet memes, as well as physical signs used by counter-protestors that stated "Welcome to the Ram Ranch." [2]

Upon learning about his song being used during the counter-protests, MacDonald said that he was "totally elated that my song could be used to stand up for science". [7] He subsequently created an over twenty-minute-long song with equally explicit lyrics as "Ram Ranch", specifically themed around the truckers, simply named "Ottawa Truckers." [3] [5]

Related Research Articles

A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for protest and social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs. It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music and politics</span>

The connection between music and politics has been seen in many cultures. People in the past and present – especially politicians, politically-engaged musicians and listeners – hold that music can 'express' political ideas and ideologies, such as rejection of the establishment ('anti-establishment') or protest against state or private actions, including war through anti-war songs, but also energize national sentiments and nationalist ideologies through national anthems and patriotic songs. Because people attribute these meanings and effects to the music they consider political, music plays an important role in political campaigns, protest marches as well as state ceremonies. Much of the music that is considered political or related to politics are songs, and many of these are topical songs, i.e. songs with topical lyrics, made for a particular time and place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. W. McCall</span> American art director, singer-songwriter and mayor (1928–2022)

William Dale Fries Jr. was an American commercial artist who won several Clio Awards for his advertising campaigns. He was also a musician remembered for his character C. W. McCall, a truck-driving country singer that he created for a series of bread commercials while working for an Omaha advertising agency as an art director. Fries performed as McCall in a series of outlaw albums and songs in the 1970s, in collaboration with co-worker Chip Davis who also founded Mannheim Steamroller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convoy (song)</span> 1975 single by C. W. McCall

"Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US and is listed 98th among Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts and one week at number one on the pop charts. The song went to number one in Canada as well, hitting the top of the RPM Top Singles Chart on January 24, 1976. "Convoy" also peaked at number two in the UK. The song capitalized on the fad for citizens band (CB) radio. The song was the inspiration for the 1978 Sam Peckinpah film Convoy, for which McCall rerecorded the song to fit the film's storyline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac Tonight</span> McDonalds advertising character

Mac Tonight was a character used in marketing for McDonald's restaurants during the late 1980s. Known for his crescent moon head, sunglasses and piano-playing, the character played the song "Mack the Knife", which was made famous in the United States by Bobby Darin. Throughout the campaign, Mac was performed by actor Doug Jones and voiced by Brock Walsh.

"Do You Hear the People Sing?" is one of the principal and most recognisable songs from the 1980 musical Les Misérables. It is sung twice in the opening and closing section of the stage musical.

Zello is a tech software company in Austin, Texas, U.S., known for the Zello app, which emulates push-to-talk (PTT) walkie-talkies over cell phone networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada convoy protest</span> 2022 protest against COVID-19 mandates

A series of protests and blockades in Canada against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions, called the Freedom Convoy by organizers, began in early 2022. The initial convoy movement was created to protest against the vaccine mandates for crossing the United States border, but later evolved into a protest on COVID-19 mandates in general. Beginning on January 22, 2022, hundreds of vehicles formed convoys from several points and traversed Canadian provinces before converging on Ottawa on January 29, with a rally at Parliament Hill. The convoys were joined by thousands of pedestrian protesters. Several offshoot protests blockaded provincial capitals and border crossings with the United States.

The yellow vests movement was a series of protests in Canada inspired by the yellow vest protests that began in France in 2018. Unlike the French gilets jaunes protests in 2018 and 2019, the Yellow Vest Canada movement incorporated xenophobic rhetoric in their messaging, and have been described as "frontline extremists, hate group, alt-right, and far right.

The following article is a broad timeline of the course of events surrounding the Canada convoy protest, a series of protests and blockades in Canada in early 2022. The protest, which was called the Freedom Convoy by organizers, was "first aimed at a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers" when the convoy of hundreds of vehicles, including semi-trailers, headed towards Ottawa, Ontario the nation's capital, starting on January 22. The protesters quickly changed their messaging to include demands that all COVID-19-related public health restrictions be lifted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat King (activist)</span> Canadian activist

Patrick James King is a Canadian far-right activist, and conspiracy theorist from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, who lives near Red Deer, Alberta.

Tamara Lich is a Canadian activist who has organised for the right-wing Maverick Party, the far-right Yellow Vest protests, and the Canada convoy protest in Ottawa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Dichter</span> Canada convoy protest leader

Benjamin Joseph Dichter was a leader in the 2022 Canadian convoy protest. He is an entrepreneur, working as a journalist, truck driver, author and podcast publisher. Formerly, he has worked as a gemologist, and as a print shop owner in Toronto. He is the founder of the LGBTQ conservative group LGBTory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diagolon</span> Canadian alt-right organization

Diagolon is a Canadian alt-right organization, conceived by podcaster Jeremy MacKenzie. The US Department of State's Bureau of Counterterrorism has called it a far-right extremist group. It was mentioned in news coverage of the Canada convoy protest.

James Ralph Bauder is a Albertan truck driver, the cofounder of Canada Unity and an organizer of the Canada convoy protest.

Tom Marazzo is a Canadian military veteran, former teacher, and leader in the 2022 Canadian convoy protest.

Jeremy Mitchell MacKenzie is a Canadian right-wing activist, military veteran, Plaid Army podcaster, the founder of far-right group Diagolon, and a Canada convoy protester.

The Plaid Army is a group of Canadian internet live streamers known for their far right politics. The group has been accused by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network of Islamophobia and anti-semitism.

The Public Order Emergency Commission, also known as the Rouleau inquiry or the Inquiry into Emergencies Act was a public inquiry in Canada that investigated the invoking of the Emergencies Act on February 14, 2022, by the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the Canada convoy protests. It was the first time the Emergencies Act had been invoked and it remained in place from February 14–23, 2022, the POEC investigated the rationale for invoking the Emergencies Act and the measures taken for dealing with the emergency". The inquiry was led by commissioner Justice Paul Rouleau, who was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on April 25, 2022. Justice Rouleau had a surgical intervention which delayed the inquiry from September 19, 2022, to mid-October. The inquiry is independent of the parliamentary review committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gay cowboy</span> LGBT slang term

A gay cowboy refers to an individual belonging to the subculture within the gay community of homosexual men who dress and behave like cowboys. This movement, which emerged mainly in the Western United States and Mexico, has spread throughout North America.

References

  1. 1 2 "Grant Macdonald's 'Ram Ranch' sample of Anubys's 'Flying Through the Sky'". WhoSampled. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dickson, E. J. (February 10, 2022). "A Porno-Metal Song About Gay Cowboys Is Disrupting the Anti-Vax Trucker Convoy". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Deachman, Bruce (16 February 2022). "Ram Ranch Resistance: How a gay cowboy song became an anti-convoy anthem". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  4. 1 2 Hachey, Isabelle (18 February 2022). "Avant la police, il y a eu les cowboys". La Presse (in French). Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 "How the raunchy gay cowboy song Ram Ranch became an anti-convoy protest anthem". CBC News . Archived from the original on 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  6. 1 2 3 4 McLeod, Paul (16 February 2022). "An Ode To Gay Cowboy Orgies Is The Anthem For The Ottawa Resistance". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  7. ↑ Browning, Bil (14 February 2022). "Ottawa residents are using a heavy metal song about gay cowboys to get rid of anti-vaxx truckers". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.