In a celebration of Canada Day, the legendary Bryan Adams has released a protest song, ‘51st State’. The track comes in the aftermath of D*nald Tr*mp making comments that allude to the US taking over Canada and how Canadians would love him to be their President.

Bryan isn’t often associated with political songwriting, so this is a surefire sign that things have truly soured on the other side of the Atlantic. However, the track pairs a biting lyric regarding how Canada will always be Canada — very much championing a Canadian pride without xenophobic overtones — with a great pop rock arrangement where a flat drum sound and chiming guitars mirror the Jeff Lynne “Wilbury” production that helped Bryan’s ‘Get Up!’ album of 2015 become his best overall work since 1991’s mega-selling ‘Waking Up The Neighbours’.

From the outset, Adams expresses resentment at how hard things have become, before expressing how Canada have always stood alongside the US “for the liberty we share”. If the earlier part of the song isn’t quite direct enough for some to understand his point, he eventually reaches a point where those who challenge Canada in a dictatorship style should expect to find “a wall of Maple, with us on the other side”.

It’s not musical complex – there are no flashy solos or unexpected musical twists here – and everything is done and dusted in a little over two minutes, making this a great exercise in musical economy. That, of course, only makes it easier to focus on the message. For those who’ve often written Adams off as a lightweight entertainer, this Springsteen-esque turn regarding standing up for your peers and your beliefs might come as a surprise, maybe even a shock. It’s easily the best thing Vancouver’s most famous musical export has put his name to in a long time.

Take a listen below.