BY KYLE LOVERN
You have likely never heard of him until a few days ago. Most none of us had. But Oliver Anthony, a singer-songwriter from rural Farmville, Virginia, has taken the internet and online music venues by storm. He has gone “viral,” as they say, with thousands of views.
A self-proclaimed farm boy has written and self-recorded what some call the “People’s Anthem.” The working middle class has made the song “Rich Men North Of Richmond” No. 1 on iTunes and gotten thousands of views on YouTube. It has been shared on Facebook hundreds of times and by many locally.
The working class can relate to so many of Oliver’s lyrics. It’s sort of a protest song – and the “rich men” geographically referred to north of the Virginia capitol of Richmond are no doubt in Washington. He is calling out the politicians and lawmakers and says what many hard-working Americans feel – especially as inflation increases. He mentions paying more taxes – and most of us can relate to that. Everything has gone up in price, groceries, gas, insurance – you name it.
The country music song features Anthony strumming on his guitar as he sings with much feeling what many conservatives and moderates are feeling today. In his lyrics you can hear great sorrow and individual pain. He complains about the falling value of the dollar, the hefty burden of taxation, those abusing the welfare system and more.
The country boy with the long red beard probably had no idea how his song would take off after adding it to the internet.
Anthony belts out the chorus with great feeling, “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.”
More of the lyrics go, “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 shit and it’s taxed to no end / ’Cause of rich men north of Richmond.”
Here is more of the witty lyrics, which many from our eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia region can definitely relate to.
“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.”
One of my favorite parts of the song goes like this.
“Young men are puttin’ themselves 6 feet in the ground / ’Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin’ them down.”
National news networks are talking about the song. If you Google his name or the song you will find many commentaries about this new singing sensation.
Anthony is definitely getting to see his “15 minutes of fame.” But if he continues to write and sing like this, his music career may take off. He has already garnered attention from some bigger country music stars.
I’m sure some of them, if he wants, will have him open up for their shows in the future. For now he is playing the usual smaller venues like farmers markets and local festivals and fairs. No doubt larger gigs will soon come.
Another line in the chorus goes, “I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day / Overtime hours for bullshit pay.” That is a lyric and verse many can relate to.
There is some anger in his song as he belts it out with strong feelings. He is hitting on a nerve that many Americans are feeling these days.
His authentic song is a catchy tune. Trust me, you will want to listen to it more than once.
The popular song is indeed an anthem for the common man and those who work hard for a living but never seem to get ahead.
This ginger-haired farmer reportedly lives somewhat off the grid with his three dogs (which you can see in his video), but obviously, he has internet and has become the current sensation.
Anthony is someone many can relate to, and he may just stick around for a while. Let’s hope so.(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)