In a highly produced segment, John Oliver addressed immigration issues Last week tonight, suggested a new song to replace Lee Greenwood's “God Bless the USA,” which is played at naturalization ceremonies in the U.S. – and it included a co-sign from Will Ferrell, who unexpectedly appeared as a singing country artist in a sprawling music video was a guest.

The political comic host, himself a recently naturalized citizen, got to work this week as talk of the election increasingly dominated media cycles leading up to Election Day on Nov. 5. He eschewed a typical opening segment filled with irreverent jokes and a recap. After making the headlines the week before, Oliver changed the show's rhythm by quickly moving on to the show's real themes – not one, but two: mass deportations and a strange feature of the naturalization process.

While Oliver managed to throw in a few insults at Donald Trump (“an E. coli outbreak was linked to McDonald's, but was still somehow the second most heinous event this week”) and his vice president JD Vance (“Your next memoir, Dingus Sonata“Where I suspect you can solve poverty by comparing it to a turkey fucking Ruben”), the host's tone took on a more serious tone as he laid out what mass deportation would actually look like.

Oliver then moved on to a segment mostly focused on Greenwood, poking fun at the conservative country singer's missteps – like when he said his signature song was better than Prince's “Purple Rain” and “Margaritaville” ( which gave rise to a huge empire and were among the largest). lucrative song ever); faced a rejected trademark application for attempting to trademark “God Bless the USA” on goods; embroiled in a dispute over licensing issues for the government's use of the song; and released “God Bless Canada.”

Towards the end of the show, Oliver used his arguments against playing Greenwood's song at ceremonies to present an alternative through a “real American treasure.” Not only are we not going to charge the government $700 a year to do it, we're not assholes. We actually pay them $700 a year.”

The program then aired a pre-filmed high-definition music video, with locations ranging from a modern, neon-colored pub to the waterfront with a view of the Statue of Liberty. Cheers erupted as the audience realized who the American treasure was: In the clip, Ferrell sings a passionate, half-serious, half-satirical ballad about America's highs (“As corn dogs and apple pie / Fireworks light up the sky / Nascar, rodeo, barbecue.” / This stuff is American / Now you are too”) and lows (“Televangelists and fossil fuels / Metal detectors in all our schools / Private prisons and Mountain Dew / This stuff is American / That’s your problem too”).

As the multiple Emmy winner leaves the bar, the music video grows exponentially in size, with enlisted background musicians – a string ensemble, a brass band, a gospel choir and harmonizing singers, to name a few – and ridiculous props – a falling Boeing airplane door and the bizarrely patriotic Tesla Cybertruck – among many other Easter eggs. Ferrel touches on everything from “thousands of medical bankruptcies” to Chuck E. Cheese and tornadoes to Spirit Halloween. “Holy shit, I just remembered the coup,” he quips at the end of the song.

The nearly three-minute video ends with glitz and celebration galore as the music reaches its climax and everyone joins in to welcome the new citizens home. Swelling trumpets accompany a cheerleader's final rail stunt as a larger-than-life American flag unfurls and the chorus embarks on a cruise ship to cap off the gargantuan effort to bring about the unexpected Saturday Night Live-similar treat at the end.