“Neighbours” is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks and to the long history of Canadians and Americans standing beside one another in difficult times.

The first verse recalls the Canadian Caper of 1979–80. When six American diplomats escaped the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Canadian diplomats sheltered them, helped provide Canadian passports and worked with the United States to get them safely out of Iran.

The second verse turns to September 11, 2001. When U.S. airspace was closed, hundreds of aircraft were diverted to Canada. More than 33,000 passengers suddenly found themselves stranded in Canadian communities. In places such as Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, residents opened schools, churches, community centres and homes, providing food, beds and friendship to thousands of strangers.

The third verse remembers Afghanistan. In the aftermath of 9/11, more than 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan alongside American and allied forces. Some returned wounded; 158 Canadian Armed Forces members did not return home.

The fourth verse looks at another kind of shared crisis. For decades, Canadian firefighters, aircraft and emergency crews have crossed the border to assist when major wildfires overwhelm communities in California and other U.S. states, just as American crews have helped Canada in our own times of need.

“Neighbours” is not about keeping score. It is about remembering what neighbours can mean to one another when circumstances are at their worst.

After all these years of standing beside you, is it too much to ask that we, as neighbours, be treated with the same respect and kindness we have shown for a very long time?

*The lyrics of this song were created with an initial draft using AI then rewritten by Joe Ramsay. The instrumental music was created using Suno. The vocals are based on the cloned singing voice of Joe Ramsay.

The lyrics in the song speak for themselves. Basically, it takes a lot of arrogance and aggression to think you can rename an internationally recognized body of water with one country (in face, one man’s) unilateral declaration. Lake Ontario has been the name of this body of water since the Wendat called it that for what might be thousands of years (400 at the very least).

*The lyrics of this song were created with an initial draft using AI then rewritten by Joe Ramsay. The instrumental music was created using Suno. The vocals are based on the cloned singing voice of Joe Ramsay.