‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ tops charts, resonates with Americans

In case you’re not keeping up with the music scene, you might be unaware of Oliver Anthony’s hit song, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which went ultra-viral overnight as it hit number one on the iTunes charts. The country musician Oliver Anthony, who’s real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford, beat out Taylor Swift and Luke Combs on the top charts and continues to rank the same with two songs in the top two spots as of Monday, Aug. 21.

The song, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” seemed to have caught so much traction across the internet not only due to the incredibly catchy tune, but also because of lyrics that resonate with so many working-class people. The song has been referred to by some media outlets as a “Populist Anthem,” and others blasted it as “far-right rhetoric,” due to how it resonates with the average disgruntled American regular Joe. The lyrics speak to frustrations with elected politicians, abuse of the welfare system, and even including what appears to be an inconspicuous reference to scandals surrounding public figures who reportedly visited Jeffrey Epstein's private island. One lyric in the song reads, “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.”

On stage at the Aug. 13 show, the first show after going viral, the hobbyist country musician described his previous performance at Morris Farm Market in Currituck, North Carolina, as having an entire 20 people in the audience. This time, Anthony packed the same venue with upwards of 2,000 that afternoon.

The Morris Farm Market show happened to be a free concert, and on short notice to Anthony’s fans. As one can imagine, the turnout that evening made up for the free cover charge with the sales from food trucks, drinks, and merchandise which are evident from video footage of the event. Anthony described how the attendees of the free concert packed 25 acres with cars. He packed another venue the very next weekend in Moyock, North Carolina, with a considerably greater number of people, according to a report from an independent journalist with Country Cast.

Anthony informed his fans via social media that he had recently turned down an $8 million contract with a record company. He said, “People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off $8 million offers. I don't want six tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet. I don't want to play stadium shows, I don't want to be in the spotlight.”

He went on his post to explain what the song is really about, and why he wrote it, “I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression. These songs have connected with millions of people on such a deep level because they're being sung by someone feeling the words in the very moment they were being sung…. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.”

Anthony says he doesn’t consider himself a talented musician, and that his sudden rise to popularity should be attributed to the people who felt that the song, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” resonated with them and their personal struggles with the crazy world around us.

"It's you, and the struggles in your life. That's what's made this what it is,” Anthony said in a video while driving home from the Morris Farm Market show. “Find a way to start fixing those problems. Find a way to start having good conversations with people that live around you. That's all I want out of this.

“This song... It's not like it's some masterpiece I've created. The masterpiece and the emotions of the song already exist within you. Sometimes it just takes the right song coming along to let those out."

Anthony explained why he goes by the stage name, Oliver Anthony, when his real name is Chris. He points to the old-time lifestyle of his grandfather in Appalachia, an iconic picture of mountain life which historians have compared to the cultural setting here in the Ozarks,

“My grandfather was Oliver Anthony, and ‘Oliver Anthony Music’ is a dedication not only to him, but 1930s Appalachia where he was born and raised,” he said. “Dirt floors, seven kids, hard times. At this point, I'll gladly go by Oliver because everyone knows me as such. But my friends and family still call me Chris.”

The Babylon Bee put out a satirical yet arguably truthful headline about the rise of Oliver Anthony and how he rejected the multi-million dollar contract. The satirical headline reads, “Country Music Industry Confused By Man Actually From Country Making Actual Music."

The country musician from small-town Appalachia described in a social media post his blue collar background to share with his fans where he really comes from.

Anthony said, “I worked multiple plant jobs in Western North Carolina, my last being at the paper mill in McDowell county. I worked third shift, six days a week for $14.50 an hour in a living hell… I've worked outside sales in the industrial manufacturing world. 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. I've spent all day, everyday, for the last 10 years hearing the same story. People are so damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated. In 2019, I paid $97,500 for the property and still owe about $60,000 on it. I am living in a 27-foot camper with a tarp on the roof that I got off of craigslist for $750.”

In the same social media post, Anthony went on to share the real message he wants the world to hear, “When is enough, enough? When are we going to fight for what is right again? Millions have died protecting the liberties we have. Freedom of speech is such a precious gift. Never in world history has the world had the freedom it currently does. Don't let them take it away from you. Just like those once wandering in the desert, we have lost our way from God and have let false idols distract us and divide us. It's a damn shame.”