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"Rich Men North of Richmond"
Single by Oliver Anthony
Released	August 8, 2023 (2023-08-08)
Genre	Country
Length	3:07
Label	Self-released (through DistroKid)
Songwriter(s)	Oliver Anthony
Producer(s)	Oliver Anthony
Oliver Anthony singles chronology
"I've Got to Get Sober" (2023) "Rich Men North of Richmond" (2023)
Music video
"Rich Men North of Richmond" on YouTube

"Rich Men North of Richmond" is a song by American country music singer Oliver Anthony that was released in August 2023. The song became an overnight viral hit after gaining traction on social media, and has been described as a "blue-collar anthem", an "everyman anthem", and a "right-wing anthem". Within days of its release, it topped sales and streaming charts, and then debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Anthony the first artist to debut atop the chart without any prior chart history in any form.

Background and content

The song was first uploaded to YouTube on August 8, 2023, by Radiowv, and the video received over 5 million views in its first three days. Prior to the song's success, Anthony was not a well-known musician, and he had previously self-recorded songs on his cell phone. "Rich Men North of Richmond" was Anthony's first professionally recorded song. In an interview with Billboard, Radiowv's Draven Riffe said: "We both prayed before we recorded Rich Men North of Richmond."

Themes of the song include low wages ("for bullshit pay"), food poverty ("nothing to eat"), high inflation ("dollar ain't shit"), high taxes ("taxed to no end"), child trafficking ("minors on an island"), welfare abuse ("the obese milkin' welfare"), and loss of control to others ("wanna have total control").

A reference to politicians "looking out for minors on an island somewhere" has been interpreted as a reference to Jeffrey Epstein and his private island, and has led to speculation that Anthony was referencing the QAnon conspiracy theory, which revolves around the belief that politicians and other elites engage in child sex trafficking and other child abuse.

In a video explaining his songwriting, Anthony said that his lyrics are attempting to speak for the working class and that he aspires to be a "voice for those people", noting that "whatever it is they're doing, they can't quite get ahead". Anthony has described his politics as "dead center".

Reception

The song as has been attributed to a diverse range of influences, and various commentators have described it as an "anthem" for the "everyman", for blue-collar workers, as well as for conservatives, and the right-wing. The song was praised by Republican House representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, country singer John Rich, podcaster Joe Rogan, and conservative commentators Dan Bongino and Matt Walsh. Musician and commentator Winston Marshall praised the song in an op-ed for The Spectator as a "raw original tune ... that decries the powers that be in DC, elite pedophiles and the plight of ordinary working Americans" which "has resonated like a national guitar with music-loving Americans starved for something authentic". Not all who championed the song were from the right; Democratic senator Chris Murphy posted that "progressives should listen to this", with the suggestion that the issues raised in the song are "all problems the left has better solutions to than the right". In contrast, conservative National Review's executive editor Mark Antonio Wright criticized the song's lyrics, arguing that "if you're a fit, able-bodied man, and you're working 'overtime hours for bullshit pay,' you need to find a new job."

Describing the song as "a passionate screed against the state of the country", Rolling Stone writer Joseph Hudak also said that Anthony delves into "Reagan-era talking points about welfare". Jay Caspian Kang wrote in The New Yorker that "depending on your politics, is either a voice sent from Heaven to express the anger of the white working class, or he is a wholly constructed viral creation who has arrived to serve up resentment with a thick, folksy lacquering of Americana."

The song was likened to "Try That in a Small Town" by Jason Aldean, a country song popular among conservatives that was previously in the top spot on the iTunes Country Chart until ousted by "Rich Men North of Richmond". Emma Keates wrote in The A.V. Club that Anthony's lyrics are "not ... as blatantly threatening" as those in Aldean's single, but "they're generally still based on a number of regressive and gross stereotypes that are filtering into mainstream music in a frightening way". Some criticized the song for its line about "the obese milkin' welfare", calling the line "fatphobic" and claiming that it draws on negative stereotypes about welfare recipients.

The song is described as the "latest in a series of controversial cultural flashpoints" that divided America. In The Washington Post, it is argued that coming after the film Sound of Freedom and Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town", the song is significant in demonstrating that "the far-right is gaining ground in the world of pop culture" previously dominated by "leftist personalities and values". An alternative view, posited in Australian news outlet news.com.au, is that "no matter where you go and who you impress, there will always be a group of people eager" to "misconstrue your message," and so, although the song is "clearly about a working class call to arms, there were some who viewed the song as an 'offensive right wing anthem'".

The song also received a response from British singer Billy Bragg, in which he wrote a song titled "Rich Men Earning North of a Million" with lyrics encouraging labor organization.

Chart performance

"Rich Men North of Richmond" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 dated August 26, 2023, with 147,000 downloads and 17.5 million streams that week. It made Anthony the first artist to debut a song at number one on that chart with no prior entries in any form (five other solo artists debuted at No. 1 but had prior entries in other forms). It also makes him the second unsigned artist to have a number-one single on that chart, following Lisa Loeb's "Stay (I Missed You)" in 1994.

References

1. ^ Oliver, Ned (August 14, 2023). "Farmville singer's blue-collar anthem "Rich Men North of Richmond" goes viral". Axios.
2. ^ Chilton, Louis (August 16, 2023). "Viral 'right-wing anthem' by country singer Oliver Anthony branded 'offensive'". The Independent. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
3. ^ Rosen, Evan (August 12, 2023). "'Rich Men North of Richmond' becomes new right-wing, blue-collar anthem". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
4. ^ Trust, Gary (August 21, 2023). "Oliver Anthony Music's 'Rich Men North of Richmond' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
5. ^ Hudak, Joseph (August 11, 2023). "Right-Wing Influencers Just Found Their Favorite New Country Song". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
6. ^ Keates, Emma (August 14, 2023). "What is "Rich Men North of Richmond" and why is it suddenly everywhere?". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
7. ^ Yang, Angela (August 14, 2023). "How an obscure country artist's viral song became a conservative anthem". NBC News. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
8. ^ "Oliver Anthony's Manager on the Viral Success of 'Rich Men North of Richmond' and Bigger Mission: 'God has Chosen to Speak Through Oliver': Exclusive". Billboard. August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
9. ^ Nicholson, Jessica (August 12, 2023). "'Rich Men North of Richmond' Viral Hitmaker Oliver Anthony: 5 Things You Need to Know". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
10. ^ Willman, Chris (August 15, 2023). "Oliver Anthony's 'Rich Men North of Richmond' Is an Instant Smash Among Conservatives, While Progressives Wonder if He's a 'Plant'". Variety. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
11. ^ Cantor, Matthew (August 16, 2023). "Rich Men North of Richmond punches down. No surprise the right wing loves it". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
12. Piper, Ernie (August 15, 2023). "Newfound right-wing country music celeb Oliver Anthony kept YouTube playlist with 9/11 truther videos". The Daily Dot. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
13. Geller, Wendy (August 13, 2023). "Who Is Oliver Anthony? What to Know About the 'Rich Men North of Richmond' Viral Hitmaker". The Messenger. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
14. Rosen, Evan (August 12, 2023). "'Rich Men North of Richmond' becomes new right-wing, blue-collar anthem". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
15. Currand, Colleen (August 14, 2023). "Farmville singer Oliver Anthony goes viral with 'Rich Men North of Richmond'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
16. Marshall, Winston (August 14, 2023). "Oliver Anthony and the sorry state of Rolling Stone". The Spectator. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
17. ^ "Rich Men North of Richmond: The hit song that has divided the US". BBC. August 18, 2023.
18. Wright, Mark Antonio (August 14, 2023). "Oliver Anthony's Fuzzy Lament". National Review. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
19. Kang, Jay Caspian (August 15, 2023). "A Close Listen to "Rich Men North of Richmond"". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
20. Murray, Conor (August 16, 2023). "Controversial 'Rich Men North Of Richmond'—Oliver Anthony's Hit Song Championed By The Right—Explained". Forbes. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
21. Branigin, Anne (August 17, 2023). "Oliver Anthony and the 'mainstreaming' of conspiracy theories". The Washington Post.
22. "Overnight sensation Oliver Anthony reveals why he turned down $12.5 million deal". news.com.au. August 18, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
23. Snapes, Laura (August 21, 2023). "Billy Bragg releases pro-unionisation response song to viral country hit Rich Men North of Richmond". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
24. Millman, Ethan (August 21, 2023). "Oliver Anthony's 'Rich Men North of Richmond' Is the Number One Song in the Country". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
25. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 21 August 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1746. Australian Recording Industry Association. August 21, 2023. p. 4.
26. "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: Week of August 26, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
27. Trust, Gary (August 21, 2023). "Jung Kook & Latto's 'Seven' Adds Fifth Week at No. 1 on Billboard Global Charts". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
28. "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
29. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. August 21, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
30. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
31. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
32. "Billboard Country Update" (PDF). Billboard. August 21, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.

• Oliver Anthony songs
• Protest songs
• Songs about American politicians
• Songs about labor
• Songs about poverty
• 2023 singles
• 2023 controversies in the United States
• 2023 songs
• Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles