Why 'Rich Men North of Richmond' has captured millions as a blue-collar anthem

Love it or hate it, it's really not a right-wing or left-wing song. It's a blue-collar workers' anthem against the elite.

“People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated.” — Oliver Anthony

As usual, the Right and the Left are in disagreement over something in the culture.

This time, it is a song by a previously-unknown Virginia man named Oliver Anthony, who had only recently been struggling with mental health issues and alcoholism.

Two weeks ago, the previously-unknown Mr. Anthony released a song entitled ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ and, within days, became an overnight sensation.

To date, the video of the song has been viewed over 21 million times on YouTube, and over 5.6 million times on ‘X’ (the social media app formerly known as Twitter). This, of course, does not include other social media platforms.

However, while the Left and the Right bicker as to whether the song is “right wing” or not, one thing seems certain: The song’s lyrics have tapped into blue-collar angst in a world increasingly controlled by Washington, DC politicians and ‘Corporate America’ and this may be why the song has gone viral so quickly.

Although ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ is not quite Pete Seeger’s song ‘Which Side Are You On,’ the sentiments are very similar: The workers against the rich and powerful.

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 — Oliver Anthony

“The song is one giant F-U to the men (and women) wearing suits in Washington D.C. and the corporate overlords who control them and screw up the rest of America for their own profits,” explains the Daily Caller.

Who is Oliver Anthony?

Following his new-found fame, Oliver Anthony shared his story in a lengthy Facebook post.

Anthony’s real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. Hs grandfather was named Oliver Anthony and Lunsford says “‘Oliver Anthony Music’ is a dedication not only to him, but 1930's Appalachia where he was born and raised.”

In the post, Anthony explains how he dropped out of high school at 17, got his GED and worked in a paper mill until he cracked his skull in a workplace accident.

Since then, he’s worked outside sales in the industrial manufacturing world.

He currently lives in a 27’ foot camper (with a tarp on the roof) that he bought off of Craigslist for $750, on property he bought in 2019 and of which he still owes $60k.

“My job has taken me all over Virginia and into the Carolinas, getting to know tens of thousands of other blue collar workers on job sites and in factories,” Anthony explains.

In his sales role, Anthony says he “spent all day, everyday, for the last 10 years hearing the same story.”

“People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated,” he writes.

“There's nothing special about me,” Anthony states. “I'm not a good musician, I'm not a very good person.”

I've spent the last 5 years struggling with mental health and using alcohol to drown it. I am sad to see the world in the state it's in, with everyone fighting with each other. I have spent many nights feeling hopeless, that the greatest country on Earth is quickly fading away.

Blowback from the Left

Since his song’s release, Anthony has received tremendous praise from the populist Right. However, his song has also received blowback from the Left.

“The real head-turner though is an apparent allusion to Jeffrey Epstein’s Caribbean island, where the billionaire and convicted sex offender allegedly introduced underage girls to powerful associates,” noted Rolling Stone, referring to the song’s line: “I wish politicians would look out for miners/And not just minors on an island somewhere.”

In a piece entitled Rich Men North of Richmond punches down. No surprise the right wing loves it, the Guardian’s Michael Cantor criticizes Anthony’s angst about the nation’s welfare system, writing:

But things start to feel a little less empathetic when Anthony starts complaining about “the obese milking welfare”, reasoning that “if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds”. We can all agree that politicians have caused many of America’s problems; it’s harder to argue that our country is being destroyed by short, overweight chocolate enthusiasts. He also rails against taxation, which he says means “your dollar ain’t shit”.

Cantor goes on to lambast Anthony’s song and those who have sung it praise.

“Winston Marshall, formerly of Mumford and Sons, compared Anthony to Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie – but if either of them ever recorded a song mocking the poorest of the poor, it’s been lost to history,” Cantor concludes. “If Anthony wants to keep moving upward, he should aim his punches in the same direction.”

What Cantor seems to miss in his critique of Anthony’s song is that the song’s sentiment seems to resonate with many blue-collar workers across the political divide: They are tired of being taken advantage of by a system that seems to reward those at the top of the economic pyramid, as well as those who receive ‘for free’ the products of their labors.

“Go up to any guy at any bar in any blue collar part of the country, ask him what he thinks of entitlements, and he’ll say exactly what Anthony says in the song.” — Conservative Commentator Matt Walsh, on ‘X’

While, on the Left, some have used this working-class angst as a catalyst to drive workers into unions, many on the Right (so far) have not been as quick to jump into unions that do not share their social views.

However, on both sides of the political divide, workers—whether they identify as Democrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative—tend to believe that Washington politicians and Corporate America have aligned against workers’ interests and Anthony’s song seems to have tapped into that anger.

Going against the grain, however, one liberal politician, Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, shared the song on his social media earlier this week, stating:

a. I think progressives should listen to this. In part, bc it’s just a good tune.

b. But also bc it shows the path of realignment. Anthony sings about the soullessness of work, sh*t wages and the power of the elites.

All problems the left has better solutions to than the right

However well intended Murphy may have been, his ‘tweet’ received a rather resounding backlash from those within his own party.

One individual who seems to have been particularly offended by Anthony’s song is political activist Nina Turner, who has been tweeting references to the song all week.

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Although ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ may disappear from the public consciousness as quickly as it came, for the moment, it has tapped into something that has been simmering across America for years.

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