Jully Black Knew She Was Going To Change ‘O Canada’ Lyric ‘As Soon As I Got The Call’
21.02.2023 - 22:51
/ etcanada.com
Jully Black has got Canada talking.
On Sunday night, the singer performed “O Canada” at the NBA All-Star Game, and she made waves with a subtle but important change to the lyrics of the national anthem.
In place of the line, “Our home and native land,” Black sang, “Out home on native land,” an acknowledgement of Canada’s Indigenous community and history.
Very quickly, the change became a big subject on social media and in the news, with many praising Black’s choice.
READ MORE: Toronto’s Jully Black To Sing ‘O Canada’ At NBA All-Star Game
In a conversation with ET Canada’s Morgan Hoffman, Black reflected on the anthem performance and how she decided to alter the lyrics.
“I’m so happy with my performance. I knew I wanted to add some seasoning to the anthem, a little bit of flavour,” she said, gleefully, “but I also knew I needed to stay true to the melody.
Part of what inspired Black’s choice was the size of the audience for the All-Star Game.
“I knew that this was a moment. There’s no other stage for the Canadian anthem that’s bigger, because we didn’t do the anthem at the Super Bowl,” she said.
As for the impact that her change to the anthem has had, Black was asked if she expected all the attention and discussion in the aftermath.
“I didn’t. I knew it had a strong impact on myself, and that’s what mattered, and my Indigenous friends and those who I consulted with,” she admitted, revealing, “I knew I was going to change the word out the gate as soon as I got the call.”
Black pointed out that changes to the Canadian national anthem are nothing new. In 2018, the lyric, “In all our sons command,” was changed to the gender neutral, “In all of us command.”
“And then it dawned on me, I was like, ‘So we we skipped over