He did it again! Our favorite chaos gremlin who likes to meddle in foreign bird competitions, fire sale restaurant equipment, and ethically-challenged Supreme Court justices, just delivered with another one of his zany and elaborate interventions into unsuspecting institutions. But I’m getting ahead of myself. John Oliver spent the latest episode of Last Week Tonight focusing on immigration. This discussion took a detour with a brief history of Lee Greenwood’s song “God Bless the USA,” the 80s anthem that’s balls-to-the-walls patriotism (if a little light on artistry). The song has been played for years during naturalization ceremonies for newly-minted US citizens — including at Oliver’s ceremony five years ago. When Greenwood learned the government was playing his song regularly, he demanded payment and worked out a deal where he gets $700 a year. Enter Oliver, who is now offering to pay the government $701 a year to use a new song he commissioned and made a full-production music video for, starring none other than a cowboy-costumed Will Ferrell. You’re welcome, America!
To close out his show on Sunday night, Oliver reflected on his own immigration process to the U.S., which indeed ended with a music video for Greenwood’s song. The presence of it got Oliver curious, so he dug into the details of how it came to be a piece of the ceremony.
As it turns out, the government began using it on their own, and when Greenwood found out, his team forced the USCIS into a settlement deal that now sees the singer get $700 a year for use of the song. Naturally, Oliver mocked the move, and most of Greenwood’s attempts to monetize, well, everything, including attempting to trademark the phrase “God Bless the USA.”
Oliver was particularly amused by Greenwood releasing a version of the song for Canada, in which he didn’t really change any lyrics of the song beyond the ones that referenced America.
“All of this is to say, for multiple reasons, I’d argue Lee Greenwood’s song should never again be played at citizenship ceremonies, because they deserve one genuinely unique to this country,” Oliver said.
“A song that celebrates the nation new Americans are about to join, and the process that they’ve been through, while also not soft-pedaling some hard truths about it.”
The good news is, Oliver had a song at the ready, and promised not to charge $700 for it — in fact, he offered to pay the government $701 to replace Greenwood’s song with it. And Will Ferrell lent his voice to it.
“You studied hard,” Ferrell sings. “You did your best. Filled out the forms, and passed the test. Now you’re part of a land that’s so God blessed, and starting today, you’re American.”
As the song continues, Ferrell sings of corn dogs and apple pie, but also of the country’s “real big problems,” like televangelists, fossil fuels “and Ted f–kin’ Cruz.”
Bravo to whomever Oliver tapped to write this song! It namechecks everything from Big Gulp to Chuck E. Cheese to L.L. Bean to Scientology. It’s honest, but still celebratory! And after Oliver thoroughly exposes Greenwood as one of those right-wingers with a fuzzy understanding of separation of church and state (who’s also peddled in bible-selling, sound familiar?), you’ll be voting to have “God Bless the USA” replaced too. Plus, Greenwood had the nerve to deride “Purple Rain” and “Margaritaville” as inferior to his work. Anyway, thank you John Oliver, for giving us another gem that will likely earn you another Emmy. I sincerely hope our government takes you up on this fine offer.
As for Will Ferrell, it was a big surprise and treat to see him pop up! I watched his new documentary, Will & Harper, on Netflix a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. He and his good friend Harper Steele take a road trip after her transition, and Will very kindly asks her about, well, her whole life experience. (Sidenote: Harper attended the Academy Museum Gala recently and looked stunning, still with a quirky flair I adore.) I don’t want to spoil anything, but the gesture Will makes at the end was so touching. Both Will and Harper have commented on how it was important to them that the documentary be released before the election, and I see this music video appearance as an extension of Will wanting to show up more for his friend, politically speaking. In that vein, he also just did a fabulous stint on Billy on the Street with Billy Eichner, where they represented “Loud White Men for Kamala!” and it was hilarious. In that pairing, Will was actually the quieter one!
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
Photos via Instagram/Last Week Tonight and credit Getty