A visceral ballad about living in modern America under the thumb of statist politicians has gone viral.
The song, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” is performed by Oliver Anthony and focuses on corrupt politicians and the modern welfare state while expressing the frustrations of many blue-collar Americans.
The chorus of the song refers to Washington elites as the “rich men” north of Richmond, Virginia: “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.”
A video of Anthony performing the song was posted to radiowv’s YouTube channel on Tuesday and has garnered nearly 10 million views in less than a week.
The video shows a bearded Anthony performing in a wooded area, with several dogs laying at his feet and a blue folding lawn chair nearby. A deer stand appears in the background.
In addition to singing about forced taxation (“your dollar…it’s taxed to no end”), Anthony also aims at welfarism in America: “If you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds.”
Marcus Pittman, CEO of LOOR, referred to the song as an example of “raw, independent art that is unapproved by the elite.”
“Art that motivates the populous is not going to come from state approved, or even conservative political organizations,” Pittman wrote on a social media post. “These institutions, when they dive into the arts, just create propagandists and court jesters.”
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh also promoted the song on his popular YouTube channel.
“Anthony is singing about the forgotten American,” Walsh said. “The working-class man who breaks his back all day only to have his pockets picked by the IRS, while the people in charge of this country ignore his concerns and spit in his face whenever he tries to convey them.”
“He is speaking out for people who don’t have a voice.”
Well, I listened to see what all the hoopla was about and thought the following about this ballad:
1) Melody and instrument (string) are OK. Vocal inflections, crescendo, decrescendo work to form a catchy tune.
2) Lyrics are OK to a point. I did not like the use of the words Bullshit” and “Shit” in this song. To me it reflected the loss of decorum and class in the modern American society, indeed globally as this song is a global hit and it is wrong.
3) He mentions “minors” and also, I think “miners”. Is he talking about the Epstein scandal and conflating it with the rust belt and minimizing it?
4) I like the return of folk music of this type, but is is inferior to Simon and Garfunkel, Mrs. Robinson, or CCRB “Fortunate Son” due to the vulgarity contained within.
5) BUT despite his shortcomings, his overall message has rankled the evil left and uni-party so that means they still want total control as he says over the global population and want voices like his in a prison cell with President Trump. It is timely and hopefully he will inspire others to speak musically to power and in complete sentences with a message that is ripe for the times.
6) THE END (The Doors)