Ottawa comedian writes farce song about city's LRT troubles
An Ottawa comedian is providing comic relief for thousands of frustrated transit users as the Confederation Line remains out of service.
Amid the latest LRT mishap, a derailment that has kept the system closed for over a month now, Rick Currie's remake of a Johnny Cash song is ringing true.
Ottawa's light rail transit system is now a big hit in the worst way.
"We try to relieve some of the stress through comedy, I think if it does anything that's what it does, takes a lot of that stress, that frustration and at least let us laugh at it a little bit," said Currie.
A song he wrote and performed at Absolute Comedy has turned a transit tragedy into farce with lyrics like; "There's no train coming up the LRT, when we get to December it still won't run but it'll be free."
The track coming as a result of the train running off the tracks in September. Return-to-service testing began Wednesday for the first time since then. Full service isn't expected until the end of November.
Curries LRT rendition of a Johnny Cash classic was performed at Absolute Comedy and posted to YouTube. The video has been viewed over 12,000 times.
"We try to relieve some of the stress through comedy, I think if it does anything that's what it does, takes a lot of that stress, that frustration and at least let us laugh at it a little bit," Currie said.
The lyrics are filled with jokes and clever jabs at the troubled transit system; "We're jammed on the R1, I got no personal space, yeah the trains even worse than the Ottawa Redblacks."
But the reality isn't so funny, the system now hasn't run in 40 days.
"We try to relieve some of the stress through comedy, I think if it does anything that's what it does, takes a lot of that stress, that frustration and at least let us laugh at it a little bit," said transit user Myles Diano about using R1 service.
"I feel like it's just a joke at this point, it's ridiculous that it's take this long, I'm glad someone was able to show it for us make the joke for us, we're in Ottawa this is the capital of the country and this is happening it's ridiculous," added Haley Gloss who would normally use LRT daily.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.