Synthpop, hip-hop and 'dude rock': A brief history of Canadian campaign songs

U.S.presidential hopeful Donald Trump found himself in hot water this week after using without permission Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World to kick off his quest for the White House.

Trump later scrapped the song which bashes former RepublicanPresident George H.W. Bush at Young's request.

• Donald Trump drops 'Rockin' in the Free World' as campaign song
• Stephen Harper gets by with a little help from his songs, paper suggests

But it's another example of how thecampaign song is an essential element in American politics blasted to pump up crowds atrallies, played in commercials and used to woo voters or critique a candidate.

There's not nearly as much hype around the songs that have been used in Canadian federal campaigns, but they play a role in setting the tone for rallies and try to reinforce the themes of the campaigns.

As our federal parties prepare to picktheir tunes for the next election, here's a roundup of some memorable Canadian campaign song moments for inspiration.

Conservative 'dude rock'

Don't mess with success, right? Prime Minister Stephen Harper has stuck with the same campaign song for the past two elections Better Now by the American alt-rock bandCollective Soul. The song is a curious choice given it was never a huge hit for the band; it's perhaps best known for being in the Christina Ricci box office bomb, Cursed.

John Higney, a Carleton University music lecturer who wrote a paper on Harper's piano performances, says the song is a safe, mainstream choice thatscreams "dude rock."

"It's the kind of thing that you hear as standard fare on modern rock radio,"he says. "It's the kind of music that I suspect would resonate very well in Fort Mac."Conservatives won't say whether it will return for a third time in the fallcampaign.

You chose what song?

Political parties have picked some really questionable past campaign songs. Jason Morris, a political science lecturer at the University of Northern British Columbia and a blogger on political tunes, says the 1993 campaign, when JeanChrtienand hisLiberals won a majority,tops them all in terms of questionable song choices.

The Liberalsopted for the 1983 synthpop hit Obsession byAnimotion. Morris says it'sa "horrible" choice,pointing outits stalker-like lyrics:"You're my obsession/ Who do you want me to be / To make you sleep with me."Just picture Chrtienjivingto that.

That same campaign, the Progressive Conservatives used the Cline Dion gospel-dance tuneLove Can Move Mountains. They were reducedto two seats.

"There's no guarantee that some inspirational song is going to put one over the top," saysMorris.

It's not just the '93 campaign though. Van Halen's Jump a songabout suicide was used at the 1984 Liberal leadership convention.

In his 1998 Conservative leadership bid, Joe Clark used the Jesus Jones tune Right Here, Right Now a song about the Eastern Bloc.

Hip-hoppin' the vote

The Liberals haven't picked a campaign songjust yet, so why not make it a hip-hop tune? That's whatBabaBrinkmanthinks.

Brinkman'sa rapper who has crafted campaignraps for his mother, Liberal MP Joyce Murray, since 2001.Brinkman'slatest,Co-operation Time, was launched during Murray's bid for Liberal leaderin 2013. It touted Murray's planned co-operation with other parties using lyrics like "You want substance / Well hers has the most / It's time to say goodbye / To first past the post."

Murray lost the bid to JustinTrudeau, butBrinkmansays there's still room for a Liberalrap. "I'd like to see an era where hip-hop is accepted as a musical genre that's on par with rock or folk or any other, where it's not feared by the old guard,"he said. It wouldn't be a Canadian first theNDP'sEdBroadbenthad his own campaign rap for his 2004 return to politicswhere he threatenedPrime Minister Paul Martin with boxing gloves.

Perfect songelusive

The NDP is the only party that'susing a song at the moment Sam Roberts Band's We're All in This Together. Carleton music lecturer Higney calls it the perfect choice."[Sam Roberts is]actually one of the few people in Canada and popular music that's actually writing protest songs that actually, amazingly enough, make it into mainstream radio play."

The NDPwon't say if Roberts's tune willbe used inthe fall. The party'spast campaignplaylistincludes lots of youthful,Canadian indie rock. Former leader Jack Layton usedThe Wire, another Roberts tune, and Believe in Me from Halifax's Sloan during his rallies.

NDP MP Charlie Angus says the perfect campaign song is hard to come by. One of many musicians in the NDP caucus,Angusplayed in thepunk group L'tranger (with fellow MP Andrew Cash) and folk-rock band Grievous Angels.

"There's a very delicate line in terms of politics and music where music can sometimes really personify a feeling or a moment,and other times when you think to yourself, 'What were they thinking when they picked that song?'" he laughs. "Music touches people in a way that speeches don't."

Writeyour ownsong

Having a hard time finding a tune that reflects partyvalues? Justwrite your ownthat's what the Bloc Qubcoishasdone. In the 2011 campaign, the BQ used a rollicking harmonica-driven tune called Parlons-nous, parlons Qubec (Let's talk, let's talk about Quebec), written by Jason Hudon. Though itsounds like something you might hear ata New Orleans blues bar, it has seriouslyricslike "Only the Bloc can take us to the end."

In 2004, the BQwroteanother original tune: Parce qu'on est diffrents. Sung by a handful of cheerfulQuebecers, itcomes with a strong separatist message.

Bob Rae, former Liberal leader and Ontario premier, is no stranger to writing music, ashe penned thechildren's song,Same Boat Now. Though he's never composed his own campaign song, hehelped put together an original jingle for the Ontario NDPback in 1995, the electionhe was dethroned as Ontario premier.

"We used it as an intro to every speech, and like a lot of other things in the '95 campaign, it didn't actually catch on," he laughs.