The Internet is chock full of videos of people singing songs and playing guitar. For any of them to get millions of views overnight and prompt a legendary country producer to offer to build an entire album around it, the song has to do something very special to stand out.
For Virginia folk singer Oliver Anthony, his smoldering delivery of a defiant protest song has resonated with ordinary Americans crushed by the indifference of the elites who run their world.
He has released a song titled “Rich Men North of Richmond” which takes aim at the moneyed elites in Washington, DC, the backroom dealmakers happy to cruise through life while everyday men and women sweat and toil just to get by.
Watch and listen for yourself below, and note the story gets better… and better.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” has been viewed and enjoyed countless millions of times across a multitude of platforms and voices the struggles of working-class families in the era of Bidenflation and upper-class opulence (note the veiled reference to Jeffrey Epstein’s island).
Oliver is a father who has seen his fair share of troubles and is now happy to dedicate his life to higher virtues than drunkenness. His Spotify profile reads: “I spend my free time writing songs and pursuing an off grid life on 90 acres in the woods of Virginia. Lord willing, this is just the beginning.”
As he sings:
I’ve been selling my soul
Working all day
Overtime hours
For bullshit 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
Living in the new world
With an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just want to 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
After the song was shared on social media — garnering millions of views and thousands of messages of praise — Anthony created an account on Twitter/X to say he is “in a state of shock at the outpouring of love I’ve seen.”
Rich Men North of Richmond has been uploaded to all major streaming platforms and will show up there in a few days.
— Oliver Anthony Music (@AintGottaDollar) August 11, 2023
Im still in a state of shock at the outpouring of love I've seen in the comments, messages and emails. I'm working to respond to everyone as quickly as possible. pic.twitter.com/iScaYp9AWQ
The story doesn’t stop there.
Now a top country producer has been so inspired he has stepped forward to offer his own assistance with the young man’s music career. John Rich — who has topped the iTunes charts multiple times over the past few years with anti-establishment anthems — shared Oliver’s song, helping rocket the phrase “Rich Men North of Richmond” to the trending topics list. Jason Howerton, an alumnus of The Blaze, announced Rich would lend his talents to the recording, while other conservative influencers will step forward with distribution and promotional offers.
🚨🚨🚨 BREAKING: After offering to cover the cost to produce Oliver Anthony’s album, legendary country producer @johnrich has agreed to PRODUCE THAT RECORD!! @dbongino offers to assist with distribution. Holy s**t!!!! 🤯
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) August 10, 2023
Oliver Anthony, email me back!! https://t.co/mzGzwLy1n6
Howerton later shared some biographical background information on Anthony’s life and how the song was recorded for the YouTube channel Radio WV. Apparently, the singer had been free from alcohol for about a month before the soulful live performance:
In the past, Oliver was struggling with mental health & coping with alcohol. In depths of despair, just about a month ago, Oliver got to his knees & broke down in tears.
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) August 11, 2023
Though he's wasn't a religious man, that night he promised God to get sober if he helped him follow his dream
On the Radio WV YouTube video, the description says Anthony names Hank Williams Jr. as his biggest inspiration. “Oliver wants to give hope to the working class and your average hard working young man who may have lost hope in the grind of trying to get by,” it reads.
Oliver Anthony has instantly exploded into the consciousness of hurting Americans, and it’s exciting to see where he may go from here.
