As anthem singers are wont to do at major sporting events, Rufus Wainwright put his own spin on the lyrics to O Canada before Game 5 of the World Series Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
The 52-year-old Canadian-American musician and composer’s first tweak came in the second line when, instead of singing “True patriot love in all of us command”, he changed the last four words to “that only us command.”
If that sounds familiar, it’s because Canadian singer-songwriter
Chantal Kreviazuk did the same
when she performed Canada’s anthem at a 4 Nations Face-Off game in Boston in February. That performance was booed lustily by the largely U.S. crowd after the Star Spangled Banner received similar treatment ahead of tournament games played in Canada.
A publicist for Kreviazuk told
The Canadian Press
the change was in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments toward Canada, which at the time were focused on annexing the sovereign nation to have it become the 51st state. Her Instagram story that night featured a selfie with the words “that only us command” written on her left hand.
As Wainwright continued the bilingual version of the anthem Wednesday night at Dodgers Stadium — where the visiting Toronto Blue Jays defeated host L.A. 6-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series — he also tweaked the French lyrics.
Where the
official lyrics
are “Car ton bras sait porter l’épée (For your arm knows how to wield the sword),” it sounded as if Wainwright, who was raised in Montreal, omitted the “sait,” making it, “For your arm wield the sword.”
In the next line, instead of “Ton histoire est une épopée/Des plus brillants exploits (Your history is an epic/of brilliant deeds)”, it sounds as if the three-time Grammy nominee changed the last three lines to “tes glorieux exploits (of your glorious deeds).”
Three-time Grammy-nominated artist Rufus Wainwright performs O Canada ahead of Game 5
: Watch all the #WorldSeries action LIVE on Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/njg1isgkGX— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 30, 2025
National Post has contacted Wainwright’s management and publicist for comment.
Negative viewer reaction to his performance and rendition was swift online and continued into Thursday morning.
“Stop changing the damn lyrics to O Canada,” Lisa MacCormack Raitt, former Stephen Harper Era MP and deputy leader to his successor, Andrew Scheer,
stated on X.
Elia Markos, a radio host for CJAD800 in Montreal, said the good news was that Wainwright elected to do the bilingual version.
“The bad news: The guy doesn’t know the lyrics,”
he posted to X.
“This is objectively one of the worst renditions I’ve ever heard,”
offered Julian McKenzie
, a writer for The Athletic who was at least “excited” at the prospect of TSN’s Jay Onrait doing “a SportsCentre Top 10 worst anthem renditions.”
Toronto-based Social Media Manager, Editor, and writer Dan Levy wondered why Major League Baseball and the Dodgers organization can’t find more capable singers. Just two nights earlier,
Canadian singer JP Saxe changed the lyrics
of the national anthem from “our home and native land,” to “our home on native land.”
“Literally could have picked a random Blue Jays fan out of the crowd to do a better job,”
Levy posted to X
. “This was another horrendous performance at the #WorldSeries.”
Up in Ottawa, Senators season ticket holder
Scott Scarrow
suggested the Jays “find someone to mess up the US Anthem” in Game 6 on Friday night at the Rogers Centre.
The Jays have yet to announce who will sing the anthem on Friday — though National Post has sent an inquiry to find out — but one Canadian legend has offered up his services.
“Dear @bluejays,” beloved children’s troubadour Raffi Cavoukian wrote on X. “I’ll be in Toronto on Friday and I’m ready and able to sing our anthem if needed.”
dear @BlueJays, I’ll be in Toronto on Friday, and I’m ready and able to sing our anthem if needed. #WorldSeries
— Raffi Cavoukian (@Raffi_RC) October 30, 2025
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