"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.
| "Ram Ranch" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song by Grant MacDonald | |
| Released | August 30, 2012 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 6:49 |
| Songwriter(s) | Grant MacDonald, Alexander Rybakov[1] |
Background and composition
edit"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
editAround 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"
editIn 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]
References
edit- ^ a b "Grant Macdonald's 'Ram Ranch' sample of Anubys's 'Flying Through the Sky'". WhoSampled. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i 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.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ 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.