“Rich Men North Of Richmond” Tops iTunes As Voice Of Working-Class Goes Viral

The raw honesty of a former factory worker in what could be the protest song of our generation has become an internet sensation overnight. The song “Rich Men North of Richmond” has skyrocketed to No. 1 on iTunes this weekend.

Oliver Anthony, a former factory worker who decided to pursue a life in music last year and is living in the forgotten part of the US, Appalachia, an area plagued with an opioid crisis and abandoned factories, tells the story of the working-class folk who struggle daily while being ignored and mocked by political elites. Here is the first couple of lines from the song: 

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 — for people like you.

Wish I could just wake up and it not be true. But it is. Oh, it is.

Rich Men North of Richmond was first posted on YouTube four days ago by “radiowv,” which shows Anthony performing an acoustic performance of what some are saying is the “anthem for 80+ million Americans who have been smeared, ignored, mocked, slandered, and robbed by their own government.” 

This song has gone viral because it resonates with working-class folk — it’s real and raw and just a man and his guitar, three dogs, and singing in his backwoods without a fancy Hollywood studio powered by artificial intelligence. 

The song continues:

Living in the New World – with an old soul.

These rich men north of Richmond. Lord knows it all. Just want to have total control.

Want to know what you think, want to know what you do.

And they don’t think you know. But I know that you do.

Because your dollar ain’t shit, and it’s taxed to no end because the rich men north of Richmond.

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 nothing to eat, and the obese milking welfare.

God, if you’re five foot three, and you’re 300 pounds, taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds.

Young men are putting themselves 6 feet in the ground because all this damn country does is keep on kicking them down.

Lord, it’s a damn shame – what the world’s gotten to for people like me, 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.

Want to know what you think, want to know what you do. And they don’t think you know. But I know that you do.

Because your dollar ain’t shit, and it’s taxed to no end because the rich men north of Richmond.

I’ve been selling my soul, working all day, overtime hours for bullshit pay…

Anthony’s other songs, “Aint Gotta Dollar” and “I’ve Got to Get Sober” and “I want to go Home” and “Virginia” and “Rich Mans Gold” and Feeling Purdy Good” and “Always Love You” and “Stuck Living in the New World” have also jumped to the top 20 songs on iTunes. 

Enjoy the song… 

One Youtuber commented on the video:

“I’m a 39 year old Iraq vet and Construction worker, struggling like a dog to take care of two kids and keep a farm going when I’m not working 11 hour days.

 “This hit so hard today I had to stop my old peterbilt and tear up.”

If ‘Bidenomics’ was actually working, the average folk wouldn’t care about protest songs. But they do. And that’s very telling the “Rich Men North of Richmond” better wake up and stop ignoring the working poor amid the worst inflation storm of a generation ahead of the 2024 presidential election cycle. 

… and one last thing, mainstream media has already started their attack on this song — calling it the “right-wing anthem” and “right-wing influencers just found their favorite new country song.”

 If this song offends you … you must be part of the “Rich Men North of Richmond.” 

The success of @AintGottaDollar and “Rich Men North of Richmond” reminded me of this @RonPaul quote pic.twitter.com/ffxSYEGsfL

— Being Libertarian (@beinlibertarian) August 13, 2023