Bilingual lyrics, a ukulele and a melodica: Amherstburg council changes up the anthem

An Amherstburg resident was tired of the traditional anthem played at the beginning of council meetings and suggested they "mix it up."

Marcie Graham emailed Coun. Don McArthur calling the existing anthem a 'dirge,' so two councillors, Graham and the town clerk formed their own committee to make it happen. They listened to different versions of O Canada until they found one that worked.

"Lets get something spicy," McArthur said was the idea.

He found a clip of Canadian group Walk Off the Earth singing a more stirring version of the anthem online and they decided that was the one.

According to McArthur, the bilingual version of the anthem with the new lyrics was hard to find online.

"I sang louder last night than I had in the previous meetings, that's for sure."

A guitar player himself, McArthur said he's even thought about pulling out his guitar and trying to create an upbeat version to play — but a few of the key changes are a bit too tricky for him.

McArthur said the reaction was generally positive at the council meeting, but he said we'll have to "wait and see" if it will be played again.

"People aren't shy about sharing their opinions," said McArthur. "One thing we want to do is reach out to church choirs, maybe they can do a version. What if we got a couple different versions? That would be great."