Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Raw Working-Class Anthem By Farmville’s Oliver Anthony Goes Viral

—

by

Bob Rayner
in

https://youtu.be/sqSA-SY5Hro

by Kerry Dougherty

Move over, Jason Aldean, there’s a new country singer on the move.

Meet Oliver Anthony of Farmville, Va., a former factory worker whose plaintive, working-class anthem, “Rich Men North Of Richmond,” went viral in just two days, catapulting this unknown country Virginia singer from obscurity into a viral sensation. It went to #1 on the iTunes chart last week, moving faster than Aldean’s, “Try That In A Small Town.”

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 suspect that prior to the release of the song last Monday, it would have been easy to get an interview with Mr. Anthony if you could find him.

Now? We’ll see.

On Sunday afternoon, just as the bearded singer — who Tweets as @AintGottaDollar — was taking the stage for a free concert at the Morris Farm Market in Currituck, I was emailing Anthony, begging him to come on the “Kerry and Mike Show” this week.

Will he come? Fingers crossed. We may not be Jesse Watters or Clay and Buck or Matt Walsh, but dammit we’re Virginia broadcasters. Hope he gets our message.

During his one week of fame, the resonator guitar-playing singer has been the subject of news stories everywhere from Billboard, Fox News, The Daily Mail and New York Post to Rolling Stone, which sneered — of course they did — “Right-Wing Influencers Just Found Their Favorite New Country Song.”

I’m not sure just how right-wing this song really is. Sounds to me as if the singer views all of Washington’s power brokers as cut from the same imperial cloth. That’s the beauty of it.

Information about Anthony is sparse. He lives in Farmville with his three dogs. He recorded a YouTube video explaining himself and in it Anthony said he “wasted a lot of nights getting high and getting drunk.” He sobered up and began seriously songwriting in 2021.

He opened his performance in Currituck yesterday by pulling out his Bible and reading part of Psalm 37. That’s sure to send lefties into orbit.

If that doesn’t do it, the second verse of his now-famous song will:

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
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.

Oliver Anthony clearly struck a chord with his raw song about the hopeless plight of the working man in America. Lots of ordinary people are loving it. Question is, are the rich men north of Richmond listening?

Republished with permission from Kerry: Unemployed and Unedited.

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62 responses to “Raw Working-Class Anthem By Farmville’s Oliver Anthony Goes Viral”

  1. John Harvie Avatar
    John Harvie

    Great stuff!

  2. killerhertz Avatar
    killerhertz

    If people knew how little work most federal employees did north of Richmond…

    1. Paul Sweet Avatar
      Paul Sweet

      I used to get upset at government inefficiency. Now I’m just thankful that
      we aren’t getting all the government that we’re paying for!

    2. walter smith Avatar
      walter smith

      How dare you!
      During the government “shutdowns,” weren’t you relieved that maybe 10% of the federal workers were “essential,” preserving liberty and SAVING DEMOCRACY?

    3. how_it_works Avatar
      how_it_works

      If you’re old enough, do you remember how on TV shows in the 80s Federal employees were almost universally portrayed as incompetent boobs, showing up only to tell everyone else what to do and screw things up?

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        It was Reagan’s call. Art imitates the leader’s imagination.

        1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
          James C. Sherlock

          Thank you.

          Most did not know that Ronald Reagan was responsible for the federal bureaucracy.

          Responsible for their indolence in their actual jobs while they expended their energy in empire building.

          If you did not exist to remind us of the requirement of the left for consistent misstatement of history we would have to invent you.

          1. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            “I’m from Washington. I’m here to help.” Or, words to that effect. Also, “Welfare Queen” was the product of early onset Alzheimer’s.

  3. kls Avatar
    kls

    We are not hopeless about our plight —- we know America, and our future, will get better once a true leader who cares about OUR people [not those inside the Beltway and the UN] wins an honest election…… Someone who will put Maui before Kiev.

    It’s just great to hear someone put our thoughts to music and SO MANY others listen, watch, and download it.

  4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    He has 8 other songs on the I tunes. Not bad. 99 cents each. I like “Love You Like a Good Ole Dog” He should write the “Ballad of Ralph Northam”.

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      Kids Doc Ralph with apologies to Big John

      Every morning at the mansion you could see him arise
      He stood 6 foot 1 weighed 165
      Kind of narrow at the shoulder and wide at the hip
      Everyone knew you could give lots of lip
      to Doc Ralph
      kids Doc Ralph

      When he was in school he knew his place
      He’d dress in Klan robes or in black face
      The life of the party without a care
      Cause he knew he was going somewhere
      Doc Ralph
      kids Doc Ralph

      First to the Senate then Lieutenant Gov
      Where he received Terry McA’s love
      He ran for Gov as Hillary’s toy
      Then ironically elected as blackface boy
      Doc Ralph
      kids Doc Ralph

      To the tune of Big John. There’s got to be better verses, but this is off the top of my head. Contributors??

      1. kls Avatar
        kls

        He was ‘Coonman’ when he was coming up.
        Loved the name, lived the part.
        Coonman sat at the one at the end of the table during sup.
        Coonman — thought it summed up his smart.

        1. Lefty665 Avatar
          Lefty665

          Good verse, thank you. The tune is rhymed couplets, will you accept this rearrangement?

          He was ‘Coonman’ when he was coming up.
          Coonman sat at the end of the table during sup.
          Loved the name, lived the part.
          Coonman — thought it summed up his smart.
          Coonman
          Ralphie Coonman

  5. Kevin Brown Avatar
    Kevin Brown

    Raw authenticity sells. Hard to find nowadays. Hope the kid keeps his head when the bright lights hit him.

  6. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    Et tu, Wikipedia?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Anthony

    “Lyrically, the song relies on misconceptions about welfare to shame overweight individuals, seems to imply that child trafficking is not worthy of government attention, and complains about paying taxes.”

    1. walter smith Avatar
      walter smith

      Glenn Greenwald had a LOOOONG podcast with the non Wales founder of Wikipedia (Sanger?) and all about how Wikipedia has been corrupted as a propaganda arm of the intelligence state…from the Left, of course.

    2. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      Normalizing the morbidly obese is not healthy for us or them.

      You’ve got it bassackwards on the song’s concern for kids.

    3. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Sometimes they calls ‘em likes they sees ‘em.

      1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
        James Wyatt Whitehead

        I learned a fun fact at Andy Jackson’s house last week. Awesome place.
        https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/63d3ef07fc8bb963cecb441cc157c2498018597aa3f9b472ede255a691b1f951.jpg

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Speaking of foul mouthed parrots… the recording is chilling.

          https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40665520

          I’ve heard of criminals sweeping the room for “bugs”, but birds?

      2. James C. Sherlock Avatar
        James C. Sherlock

        Who, again, is “they” who calls them like “they” see them?

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Baseball umpires.

    4. Thomas Carter Avatar
      Thomas Carter

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

      Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds”

      The point about overweight people appears to imply that EBT cards should be restricted to use for purchase of healthy food – not junk.

  7. Teddy007 Avatar
    Teddy007

    The question is how does the Republican Party reconcile the claim that they are becoming more populist with recent pushes against higher minimum wages, banning mandatory water breaks at hot days, or encouraging more child labor?

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      They don’t. They don’t have to. Populist means appealing to that segment of the population with a collective IQ equal to that of the Easter Bunny.

      1. Teddy007 Avatar
        Teddy007

        Insulting voters never works in the long run. It is one of the reasons that Democrats under perform in general election given how unpopular Trump is. Also, the Democrats pandering to the most militant blacks pushes blue collar and middle class whites toward the Republican Party because the Democrats have zero interest in poor or blue collar whites and just lumps them in with affluent whites.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Insulting? The Easter Bunny is a compliment to nearly half the population.

          “Raise your hand if you believe that there was massive fraud in the 2020 election. Now raise your other hand if you believe Trump is presidential timber.”

          “Good, hold that. Our GOP staffers will now come through the crowd collecting donations.”

          1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
            James C. Sherlock

            “Basket of deplorables”. Thanks Hillary.

            You hate them so.

            You should, with a glass of brown, consider why.

      2. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Medicare for older folks, Obamacare for younger working folks who don’t get heal care from their employer, Social Security. Mostly opposed by most GOP over the years and even today would repeal. Most middle income even upper middle income retired would be highly vulnerable to medical expenses if not for Medicare. Before Social Security, a majority of retired workers lived in poverty. My guess is most of the older folks who live in Farmville totally rely on Medicare and Social Security.

      3. James C. Sherlock Avatar
        James C. Sherlock

        Again. Thank you. Confirms exactly what his song is revealing.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          That he blames someone else.

      4. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        What populism means to Repubs is questionable, it is not a natural fit for them. Denigrating populists by equating them with the brains of the Easter Bunny is arrogant and simply wrong, but all too common Dem rhetoric these days.

        Populism was the Dem base for the New Deal and the governing majority of the country for about 40 years through the Civil Rights Era. The Dems dumped populism in the ’70s for neo liberal elite-ism – I’ve got mine Jack, if you don’t have yours you don’t have merit.

        Populism goes back a long way in America, to Bacon’s Rebellion not to put too fine a point on it.

        Here’s a pretty good book on populism by a Dem:
        https://www.amazon.com/People-No-Brief-History-Anti-Populism/dp/B083QQYSSS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AFBKC5CHJ5JE&keywords=thomas+frank+populism&qid=1692048556&sprefix=thomas+frank+populism%2Caps%2C256&sr=8-1

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Are you denying there is a segment of the population with the IQ of the Easter Bunny? Then why is BR always on about SOL, SAT scores?

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihiu_gZr8gs

          1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
            James C. Sherlock

            The fact that progressives equate intelligence with agreeing with them has created a blood feud.

            The reason traditional people cannot talk millions away from Donald Trump is because he hates them too, and they love him for it..

          2. walter smith Avatar
            walter smith

            “Are you denying there is a segment of the population with the IQ of the Easter Bunny?”
            To the extent they were from actual, real people, aren’t you describing Dem voters?
            Again, the non-falsifiable Dem religion – we are superior. Everyone who disagrees is an idiot. Climate change/DEI/ESG/pedophile grooming/killing babies is the religion of the superior (Aryan) man…
            If you don’t agree, you are a knuckle dragging moron and should be happy we haven’t arrested you yet. Now, bake that cake. Deliver my package. Cut my lawn…racist!

          3. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            I worked for 40 years with programs for people with the IQ of the Easter Bunny. They are better known as people having Intellectual Disabilities, formerly known as Mentally Retarded. As a group they are more trainable than educatable.

            With SOLs and SATs BR and others are dealing with an entirely different population, and set of problems with our educational system, that is far closer to median IQ than the people you are falsely equating as having the IQ of the Easter Bunny and as Trump supporters.

            These days I find I have more in common with the carpenters and plumbers I pick music with than the doctors and lawyers in my family. The arrogance of the neo liberal elites knows no bounds, while the deplorables have pretty good common sense. They know they have been screwed, by whom, and they don’t like it. That seems pretty bright to me.

          4. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            I worked with programs serving people you describe as having the IQ of the Easter Bunny for 40 years. They are more correctly referred to as people having Intellectual Disabilities, formerly known as Mentally Retarded. As a group they are more trainable than educatable. I respected them which is more than you can say with your Easter Bunny slur.

            BR and others dealing with SOLs and SATs are talking about the problems with our educational system and a far different group of people that is several standard deviations closer to the mean than the group you disparage.

            The arrogance of the neo liberal elites knows no bounds. These days I find I have more in common with the carpenters and plumbers I pick music with than the doctors and lawyers in my family. The deplorables know they have been screwed, by whom, and they don’t like it. That’s pretty bright in my book.

          5. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            It’s the “by whom” with which we’re in disagreement. They’ll vote for Trump, and get screwed again, or perhaps it’s anyway, but it ain’t going to get better.

          6. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            By demented Joe and the Dems. If you want Trump again as president, keep up the political persecutions.

            Folks are angrier than I’ve ever experienced, it’s worse than the Viet Nam years. The populist mass is as big as the aggregate identity politics that the Dems assemble. That bodes ill for the Dems eking out another win. It worked for them in ’20 but failed in ’00, ’04 and ’16. Irony being that Obama assembled a broader based coalition.

            It may not be a coincidence that the Easter Bunny and donkeys share big ears.

          7. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            The SAT and SOL are not intelligence tests.

  8. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Deja vu? Blame Canada is a cool song too.

    Funny how the circle is a wheel….

  9. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “..about the hopeless plight of the working man in America.”

    Hyperbole much? We are told, almost weekly here, how tradesmen are just making money hands over fist and how a college education is a waste of money and time. So which is it?

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      It’s a profound mischaracterization of the discussion here on BR. But, standard issue trolling. Have a nice day.

      1. Matt Adams Avatar
        Matt Adams

        I have found both articles about Mr. Anthony disheartening. The gentlemen is a musician with a very interesting back story. He’s a son of VA and as such he should be celebrated and venerated by its residents. Instead, we have partisan bickering, which is something he never invoked.

        1. walter smith Avatar
          walter smith

          He didn’t invoke partisan bickering. I hear him condemning the Uniparty, getting rich while enacting laws and policies and abusing their powers to hurt the people they supposedly represent.
          Ever wonder how people making $175k a year get so rich? How they are such good stock traders?
          How they don’t seem to be prosecuted to the full extent for their crimes?
          What he is describing is how we got Trump, so of course people like Troll have to attack. TDS never ends, and won’t even if they kill him. He is such a threat to Democracy that we must become a banana republic to save our democracy! (Say the so-called, self-professed “elites” whose elitism is merely a degree from an “approved” school of higher learning)

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Are you channeling Joe the Plumber? The Republicans love to use the plight of the common man… until they realize their goals and can safely discard them.

      Plantation elites cozying up to scrabble dirt farmers.

    3. how_it_works Avatar
      how_it_works

      Well, the educrats have done a fine job of getting rid of vocational programs in high schools.

      1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        https://www.publicschoolreview.com/virginia/vocational-public-schools

        In case you are interested…

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          It’s at the local elected level where decisions are made with regard to public school providing vocational programs.

          1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            So not those “rich men north of Richmond” then.

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            No. Except those “north of Richmond” men do send significant additional school funds to Farmville that Farmville does not have enough tax base to do on it’s own. They also provide workers in Farmville and region with publically-maintained state roads as well as Medicaid health care and Medicare/Obamacare… all from those men up north….

          3. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            Exactly, Oliver’s lament would be all the stronger if it weren’t for those “rich men north of Richmond” pumping tax dollars into Farmville. I also noticed that Farmville’s population is down by about 1000 residents in the past 10 years or so. I wonder where they are all moving? Certainly not north of Richmond…

          4. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            A lot of Virginia tax dollars go to places like Farmville for education, roads, health care, etc. It’s composite index ability to pay is .2960… so substantial state funds are provided to them for education that likely Mr. Anthony did benefit from.

    4. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      “We” are told. Consider who you include in that term. And who you exclude.

      Is there a mouse in your pocket?

      1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        “And who you exclude.”

        Only those who don’t read BR regularly.

  10. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Well Bubba, soon you’ll have a whole host of new listeners with whom to commiserate….

    “IBM CEO Arvind Krishna announced a hiring pause in May, but that’s not all. Later that month, the CEO also stated the company plans to replace nearly 8,000 jobs with AI.

    Krishna noted that back-office functions, specifically in the human resources (HR) sector, will be the first to face these changes. In recent weeks, the company has opened up dozens of positions for AI-based roles to help develop and maintain these systems.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTP2RUD_cL0

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      There’s some big investors doing big shorts in anticipation of a big slowdown. Looks like IBM is preparing for a downturn too. Here’s one of the shorts:
      https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/investor-predicted-housing-crisis-massive-bet-against-stock-market

      In the wake of the Supreme Court decision disallowing racist admissions policies in colleges attention is being turned to the private sector. A lot of those HR jobs being cut may be in DIE with AI being a convenient cover. Here’s one of many articles:
      https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/corporate-diversity-pledges-fizzle-amid-layoffs-gop-backlash

    2. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      “Bubba”.

      Your epithet, and you clearly mean it as such. encapsulates perfectly what poor people, and not just white poor people see. Disdain for them and their families.

      But only when they take time to consider them.

      Which is very seldom.

      They hate you for it.

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Yes. Their hatred is evident. They overwhelmingly vote for people like Trump.

  11. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Hmmm, who’da thunk it?

    #3… and better than doctors?

    https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/cant-outearn-stupidity-dave-ramsey-110000008.html

  12. VaPragamtist Avatar
    VaPragamtist

    I understand the sentiment and appreciate the authenticity of the lyrics. He also has a good voice.

    But in terms of music quality, he could use help putting his thoughts to song.

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