Charlie Angus has the reactionary blues.
The musician and NDP member of Parliament has released a new song with his band, Grievous Angels, shining a light on what he sees as the "low lights" of the year in politics.
A YouTube video of the tune features cheeky footage of Prime Minister Stephen Harper rocking out on the keyboard, as well as images of his former chief of staff, Nigel Wright, and banished ex-Tory Senators Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin.
Even Toronto Mayor Rob Ford makes an appearance.
Earlier this month, Angus released "Four Horses," a heart-rending song that tells the story of John A. MacDonald's policy to starve First Nations people in order to clear the way for the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s.
Angus, a HuffPost Canada blogger, was among the first to draw attention to the crisis on the Attawapiskat reserve in his Northern Ontario riding.
And though "Reactionary Blues" is snappier than his last song, Angus didn't pull any punches with the lyrics, pointing to a "Third World in the Northland."
The outspoken politician even calls Harper Conservatives "Thatcher's ugly children."
Read all the lyrics below and tell us what you think in the comments.
They're melting down the ice caps
And raising up the trolls.
Putting shutters on the windows
And burning all the notes.
The climate bell is ringing
But they've turned it back to snooze.
I'm here a-singing the reactionary blues.
There's a war you never heard of
Better join the big parade
Or they'll cut off all your funding
That's how they play the game.
We ain't in this all together or don't you watch the news
They want you all singing the reactionary blues.
They're Thatcher's ugly children
And their world is black and white.
They're hunting down the rainbow
And spoiling for a fight.
They'll put you in a message box
Where nothing is really true
Leave you there a singing the reactionary blues.
It's about pressing all the buttons
And turning all the screws
It's about a Third World in the Northland
Where the children always lose
The fat cats are feasting on your future
Like they always do
While you’re left a singing the reactionary blues.
I saw a Maple leaf a-flying
That wasn't ripped or torn
I saw a world that needed healing
Where little dreams were born.
It's gonna take a lot of effort
To rebuild all the things they blew
And we’ll never sing again
The reactionary blues
No I don't want no more
of your reactionary blues.
With previous files
Also on HuffPost
Memorable Canadian GIFs Of 2013
All Aboard(01 of61)
Cars vs. public transit? These photos of a Toronto streetcar, transformed into one succinct GIF, made a visually stunning case for the latter and stimulated debate on this hot topic. (credit:Source: Facebook)
Don Cherry On Women In Locker Rooms(02 of61)
Ron MacLean’s face here said what we were all thinking when Don Cherry went on a rant about why women shouldn’t be in male dressing rooms. (credit:Source: CBS Sports)
Justin And Sophie Cut A Rug(03 of61)
This GIF of Justin Trudeau getting his groove on with wife Sophie Grégoire ahead of his speech at the Liberal showcase in April injected some fun into 2013 politics.
Rob Ford Stays Classy(04 of61)
There were so, so many Rob Ford GIFs that caught our attention in 2013; Ford running into a camera, his "Wrecking Ball" moment, pretending to vomit… We could go on. But Ford mimicking drunk driving, immortalized in GIF form, is something we won’t soon forget. (credit:Source: Toronto Sun)
The Infamous Eye Roll(05 of61)
It was the eye roll seen around the world – or Canada, at least. Actress Elisha Cuthbert, Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf’s now-wife, and goalie James Reimer’s wife April glaring at each other during a Leafs-Bruins game. Although it seemed like a ‘Mean Girls’ moment over an on-ice error, both said that wasn’t the case.“For those who were thinkin @happyelishas and I were rolling our eyes @ eachother,” she tweeted. “Was the jerk beside us #rudecomment,” Reimer said on Twitter. (credit:Source: The Score)
John Baird Freaks Out(06 of61)
The foreign affairs minister’s terrified reaction to a reporter crashing into a display case made for one priceless GIF. If only GIFs had sound, then you’d hear his “giddy school-girl” shriek.
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Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac Megantic, Que, Saturday, July 6, 2013. Crude oil moved along Canadian railway lines in unprecedented volumes in 2013 as delays in building new pipelines caused oil companies, clamouring to reach the most lucrative markets, to seek out alternative paths. The crude-by-rail trend had been gathering steam quietly in recent years. But after the disaster in Lac Megantic, Que., it could no longer fly under the radar. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)
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Calgarians look out over a flooded Calgary Stampede grounds and Saddledome in Calgary, Alta., Friday, June 21, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)
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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford addresses the media outside office in Toronto on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Ford was responding to a new video that was released. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)
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Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi celebrates his re-election as mayor at his campaign party in Calgary, Alta., Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)
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Stompin' Tom Connors' hat lies on his casket at the Stompin' Tom Connors memorial in Peterborough, Ontario on Wednesday March 13, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
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Justin Trudeau delivers his victory speech in the Federal Liberal leadership in Ottawa on Sunday, April 14, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
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Canadian Astronaut and ISS commander Chris Hadfield is framed by spacesuits as he performs David Bowie's Space Oddity on the International Space Station, published on Sunday May 12, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, CSA - Chris Hadfield)
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Sen. Mike Duffy shields his eyes as he arrives at the Senate on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
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Kevan Yeats swims after his cat Momo to safety in High River, Alta. on June 20, 2013. Momo the cat has been living a quiet life since gaining global celebrity status when he leapt from a submerged pickup truck and swam for his life in floodwaters that hit southern Alberta last June. (credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jordan Verlage)
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper walks past a projector following a Chinese New Years event in Burnaby, B.C., Friday, February, 8, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)
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Ottawa Senators team captain Daniel Alfredsson acknowledges two young fans who show their appreciation for his team coming back after the 119 day NHL hockey strike ended during training camp in Ottawa on Sunday, January 13, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand)
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrives in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut on Tuesday, August 20, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
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A woman holds a photo as several hundred people attend a community vigil to remember Rehtaeh Parsons at Victoria Park in Halifax on Thursday, April 11, 2013. The girl's family says she ended her own life following months of bullying after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by four boys and a photo of the incident was distributed. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)
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Senator Patrick Brazeau is escorted out the Parliament Buildings after he was suspended by from duties by the Senate in Ottawa Tuesday February 12, 2013 . (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand)
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Photographs and flowers are placed at a memorial for Canadian actor Cory Monteith outside the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday July 16, 2013. Monteith's body was found in a room at the hotel Saturday. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
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A person watches a shark swim above during the grand opening of the Ripley's Aquarium of Canada in Toronto on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)
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Rita MacNeil's ashes rest in a teapot at her funeral at St. Mary's Church in Big Pond, N. S. on Monday, April 22, 2013. The 68-year-old singer died in hospital in Sydney, Nova Scotia, following complications from surgery after a recurring infection. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)
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Rogers' CEO Nadir Mohamed (left) shares a joke with NHL Commissioner Gary Betman following a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday 26, 2013 as they announced a long term broadcast and multimedia agreement, which provides Rogers with all national rights. Also announced was a multi-year sub-licensing agreement with CBC and TVA sports for the NHL games. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)
(25 of61)
Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau poses with two yoga enthusiasts after holding a press conference on the front lawn of Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday June 5, 2013. A yoga class is held on Wednesdays throughout the summer on Parliament Hill. (credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick)
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Sen. Pamela Wallin is surrounded by security as she arrives at the Senate on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday Oct.24, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)
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Mourners react outside the funeral for 18-year-old Sammy Yatim in Toronto, Thursday, Aug.1, 2013. Yatim died Saturday morning after receiving multiple gunshot wounds during an "interaction" with police. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)
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Father Maurice Frenette conducts mass at the funeral for Noah and Connor Barthe at St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church in Campbellton, N.B. on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013. The two young boys were killed by a python while they slept in an apartment above an exotic pet store earlier in the week. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)
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A small tip of the Lions Gate Bridge sticks out of the fog rolling into Vancouver harbour late Thursday night, Oct. 24, 2013. A weather system has brought heavy fog into Vancouver and the lower mainland for more than a week. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)
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A woman gets back into her flooded car on the Toronto Indy course on Lakeshore Boulevard in Toronto on Monday, July 8 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS)
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Philippe Couillard celebrates after being elected as new leader of the PLQ in Montreal, Sunday, March 17, 2013. (credit:THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Graham Hughes.)
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