Virginia country singer Oliver Anthony, a former factory worker, is going viral after his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” hit streaming services on Aug. 11.
Unknown Artist Soars With “American” Song
Virginia native Oliver Anthony‘s blue-collar anthem, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” gained internet fame last week after YouTube channel Radio WV shared Anthony’s passionate performance on their channel.
It is quite a remarkable song and performance.
He’s a songwriter from the Piedmont town of Farmville, Virginia who lives with his 3 dogs on a plot of land that he’s planning to raise livestock on.
Oliver Anthony channels all the concerns of the American working man and articulates it into a song that’s resonating palpably with people for very real reasons.
The song is a door to the frustrations felt by blue-collar workers over politicians in Washington.
The artist’s success has been drawing big crowds of hundreds at a small farmer’s market, and his song garnered over 11 million views on YouTube.
According to Twitter user Jason Howerton, who interviewed Anthony, the songwriter has struggled “with mental health & coping with alcohol. In depths of despair, just about a month ago, Oliver got to his knees & broke down in tears. Though he wasn’t a religious man, that night he promised God to get sober if he helped him follow his dream.”
Howerton added, “Oliver was about 30 days sober when someone reached out & asked him to come record a song for his YouTube channel. That song was “Rich Men North of Richmond.” Within days, the song was going VIRAL on social media.”
Anthony began writing his own music around 2021, according to Billboard, and he recorded the now-hit song “to get out there” and that the song “has been recorded on a real microphone and a real camera, and not just on my cell phone.”
Song Lyrics
“Rich Men North of Richmond” Lyrics
You add Anthony’s soulful tone singing these lyrics and it’s not hard to see why people are loving the song.
I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
Overtime hours for bullsh-t pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away
It’s a damn shame what the world’s gotten to
For people like me and people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true
But it is, oh, it is
Livin’ in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control
Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do
And they don’t think you know, but I know that you do
‘Cause your dollar ain’t sh-t and it’s taxed to no end
‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond
I wish politicians would look out for miners
And not just minors on an island somewhere
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat
And the obese milkin’ welfare
Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds
Young men are puttin’ themselves six feet in the ground
‘Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin’ them down
Lord, it’s a damn shame what the world’s gotten to
For people like me and people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true
But it is, oh, it is
Livin’ in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control
Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do
And they don’t think you know, but I know that you do
‘Cause your dollar ain’t sh-t and it’s taxed to no end
‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond
I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
Overtime hours for bullshit pay
Oliver’s Latest Heartfelt Message
Yesterday on August 14th, Oliver posted a message to his fans asking them to continue the movement, the feelings in their heart. “Talk to your neighbors instead of looking down at the ground when you’re walking on the sidewalk.”
He goes on to say that he hopes that the compassionate feeling people are getting from the song, to spread it among your community and to your neighbors.
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Great article