The Sudden Success Of ‘Rich Men North Of Richmond’—A Country Song Championed By Right-Wing Pundits

Topline

Country singer Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” is topping charts after right-wing pundits and conservative social media users championed its pro-working class and anti-Washington elite message, marking another victory for right-wing propelled country music on the charts, just weeks after Jason Aldean’s controversial “Try That in a Small Town” went viral.

“Rich Men North of Richmond” has already topped the charts on Apple Music and iTunes. (Photo by … [+] Joseph Branston/Guitarist Magazine/Future via Getty Images)

Future via Getty Images

Key Facts

In his surprise hit song “Rich Men North of Richmond”—which ostensibly refers to Washington, D.C., political elites situated north of Richmond, Virginia—Anthony lambasts the government for a variety of social issues, including being “taxed to no end,” high rates of suicide among young men and “obese milkin’ welfare.”

The song, posted to Anthony’s X, formerly known as Twitter, profile on August 10, became an immediate hit among conservatives and has attracted nearly 30,000 reposts and 140,000 likes.

Notable right-wing champions of the song include Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who praised it as an “anthem of the forgotten Americans who truly support this nation,” along with former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and pundit Benny Johnson.

The song currently ranks No. 1 on the iTunes chart, No. 1 on the Apple Music daily streams chart and No. 3 on the U.S. Spotify daily streams chart—and several of Anthony’s other songs, including “Ain’t Gotta Dollar” and “I’ve Got to Get Sober” also rank in the top three of the iTunes chart.

Anthony posted a video of a live performance of the song in front of a cheering crowd on August 13 on his X profile, gathering 100,000 likes and thanking fans for their support.

Though the song has largely been championed by the right wing, Anthony stated in a YouTube video he is politically “dead center” and disagrees with both conservatives and liberals on issues.

Key Background

Anthony is a singer-songwriter who lives in Farmville, Virginia, where he works as a farmer. He started writing his own music in 2021, he stated in an introductory video posted on his YouTube channel last week, as an outlet for difficult times he experienced, including spending “a lot of nights getting high and getting drunk.” He credited his experience working 12-hour shifts in a North Carolina factory and his belief people are overtaxed and cannot get ahead financially despite working hard as inspiration for “Rich Men North of Richmond.” Anthony first posted a performance of “Rich Men North of Richmond” on his YouTube channel on August 1, where he has been posting covers and original songs since 2020.

Chief Critics

Some critics of the song on social media pointed to the song’s line about welfare, in which Anthony criticizes obese people for “milking” taxpayer funds to pay for their “bags of fudge,” as fatphobic and evocative of negative stereotypes about welfare recipients. Other critics noticed on Anthony’s official YouTube channel, he has a playlist titled: “Videos that make your noggin get bigger,” which includes several videos that promote conspiracy theories, including claims that Israelis were involved in the September 11 attacks. Anthony responded to a popular tweet noting the conspiracy videos on his playlist, stating: “That’s fascinating, but what about the chip video?” referring to another video he included on the same playlist—an hour-long video of a potato chip spinning while the song “Funkytown” continuously loops.

Contra

Right-wing commentator Matt Walsh argued Anthony’s song resonates with his audience because it is “raw and authentic,” not for political reasons. He also defended Anthony’s criticism of welfare, claiming “blue collar Americans are sick of having their money stolen to prop up a system that functions as nothing more than a vote buying scheme for Democrats.” Conservative pundit Ben Shaprio praised the song, calling it “the cry of a lot of people in the United States” who feel “there are too many people who have their hand in their pocket, particularly elites in the federal government.” Right-wing pundit Jack Posobiec helped the song go viral—he garnered 5 million views after posting a video of Anthony’s performance on X—and praised its anti-establishment message. Country singer John Rich praised Anthony’s song and urged his fans to “pray for this man to survive his fame and hold the independent position he’s been given.”

Tangent

Anthony’s hit comes amid a historic surge for country music on the Billboard charts. Morgan Wallen’s hit “Last Night,” the current No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, has reigned for 16 weeks, the longest run at the top of the chart for a non-collaborative song and the second-longest of all-time. Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” topped the chart for one week in July amid a storm of controversy for the song, which some critics alleged glorified gun violence. The video also attracted controversy and was pulled from Country Music Television because of its setting at the Maury County Courthouse building in Columbia, Tennessee, which was the site of race riots in 1946 and a lynching in 1927, leading some critics like Rep. Justin Jones (D-Tenn.) to call it a “heinous song calling for racist violence.” Conservative pundits and politicians, including Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, voiced support for Aldean, with Trump calling him “a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song.” When Aldean’s song led the Hot 100, “Last Night” and Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” ranked No. 2 and No. 3, making it the first time a trio of country songs occupied the top three spots on the chart.

“rich Men North Of Richmond” Lyrics

I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ 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

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

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

Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds

Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds

Young men are puttin’ themselves six feet in the ground

‘Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin’ them down

Lord, it’s a damn shame what the world’s gotten to