King of Spain (song)

"King of Spain" (sometimes written as "The King of Spain") is a song by Canadian musical group Moxy Früvous, and was the second independent song to hit number one in Canada, after The Barenaked Ladies' "Be My Yoko Ono".

The song first appeared on their self-titled independent cassette release in 1992. It was re-recorded for their 1993 major-label debut album, Bargainville. Two live versions were also released on 1998's Live Noise.

The song is essentially a modern re-telling of The Prince and the Pauper; it tells the story of a dethroned Spanish monarch, who, after switching places with an identical peasant friend, comes to Canada and gets a minimum wage job at Pizza Pizza. He also mentions working as a turf vacuumer at SkyDome and a Zamboni driver at Maple Leaf Gardens (or Montreal Forum in the indie tape version). The song is narrated by the King, who, throughout the song, tells of the things he did as king and what he would do if he ran Canada. He also suggests that world leaders such as Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin should call him if they need help running their countries.

While the song is mostly a cappella, there are some percussion instruments (such as conga and shaker) providing accompaniment. The band dubbed this style "quasi-a cappella". The lead vocal is performed by Dave Matheson (who wears a "King of Spain" hat while performing the song live), with Jian Ghomeshi, Mike Ford and Murray Foster performing backup.

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