Bryan Adams targets Trump's 'Lake America' rename in new song
The Canadian rocker's track Lake Ontario defends the lake's First Nations name and accuses the US president of 'breaking the peace' between its shores.
At a glance
- Bryan Adams released a song, 'Lake Ontario', criticising Trump's order renaming the lake 'Lake America'.
- Trump signed the executive order in August, echoing his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico.
- The song is part of Adams's upcoming album How's It Goin', a project he calls a 'love letter' to Canada.
Canadian rock star Bryan Adams has released a new song, "Lake Ontario", that pushes back at US President Donald Trump's order renaming the lake as "Lake America". Trump signed an executive order in August directing US federal agencies to make the change, echoing his earlier decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America".
In the lyrics, Adams accuses Trump of "breaking the peace" between the people who live along the lake's shores. The move further escalated a feud with Canada that has strained the two countries' longstanding alliance, and it has been largely met with derision in Canada, with some noting that the province of Ontario is named after the lake rather than the other way around.
A lake with many names
Lake Ontario, which straddles the US-Canada border, has carried several names over the centuries, among them Lac Saint-Louis, Lacus Ontarius, Skaniadorio and Cataraqui Lake. Adams's song stresses the origins of its current name, quoting the Iroquois description of it as the "lake of shining waters" before adding: "It's a First Nations name – not an executive order."
The lyrics also suggest the renaming was intended to deflect from Trump's other political problems, referring to Iran and to the Epstein files gaining attention.
Part of a wider project
Adams described the song in a recent interview as part of a broader "love letter" to Canada. The writing project began after a film company invited him to write about the Maritimes provinces and expanded into his upcoming album, How's It Goin'.
"After finishing the first song, I moved on to that one, and then moved on to another one, and then started thinking maybe I should just carry on with my theme," he said.
The album also includes "51st State", released on 1 July – Canada Day – which rejects Trump's efforts to annex Canada. Adams said the first time he played that song in public was in the US.
"We weren't sure how people were going to respond to it," he said. "But we got a standing ovation every night for it. It made me think: perhaps, finally, the tide's turning."
Source: The Guardian.
Questions and answers
- Why did Bryan Adams write a song about Lake Ontario?
- He wrote it to push back at Donald Trump's order renaming the lake 'Lake America'. The lyrics stress the lake's First Nations name and accuse Trump of 'breaking the peace' between its shores.
- What did Trump rename Lake Ontario to?
- An executive order signed in August directed US federal agencies to call it 'Lake America'. It echoed his earlier decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico the 'Gulf of America'.
- What album is Bryan Adams's Lake Ontario on?
- It features on his upcoming album How's It Goin', which also includes '51st State', released on Canada Day. Adams describes the project as a 'love letter' to Canada.
