Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

The Real Deal

—

by

James A. Bacon
in

by James A. Bacon

Who do you think provides the more authentic insight into the mindset of the American working class: elite media, which filters its portraits of blue-collar Americans through the cultural and ideological lenses of its Ivy League reporters, or a home-grown balladeer like Farmville resident Oliver Anthony?

Anthony (real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford) became an overnight musical sensation with his YouTube song, “Rich Men North of Richmond.” He is the real deal, singing raw country music unaffected by the wokeness that has infected the new generation of Nashville superstars. His “lived experience” clearly informed the lyrics to the song.

“People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers,” he wrote in a recent Facebook post reacting to his sudden fame. “I don’t want 6 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.”

Lunsford dropped out of high school at age 17, earned a GED, worked multiple manufacturing jobs and fractured his skull from a bad fall at work. Since then, he’s worked in manufacturing sales. “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,” he says. “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, Lunsford paid $97,500 for a piece of land; he still owes about $60,000. He lives in a 27-foot camper with a tarp on the roof that he found on Craigslist for $750.

“There’s nothing special about me. I’m not a good musician, I’m not a very good person,” he says. “I’ve spent the last 5 years struggling with mental health and using alcohol to drown it. I am sad to see the world in the state it’s in, with everyone fighting with each other. I have spent many nights feeling hopeless, that the greatest country on Earth is quickly fading away.”

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85 responses to “The Real Deal”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Thanks for filling in some of the rest of his life.

    He “blames” others but didn’t he have opportunity himself
    when he received a “free” k-12 education and other education opportunities that would have given him “better” than the
    manufacturing jobs?

    Who prevented him from taking advantage of the opportunities he did have – as others have… gone on to college, got better jobs, etc?

    If he had the money to buy land, did he have money to go to community college and better himself that way also?

    1. Kathleen Smith Avatar
      Kathleen Smith

      Sadly, public schools couldn’t and didn’t engage him to take in what they were offering.

      1. Lefty665 Avatar
        Lefty665

        He certainly seems to have learned to express himself clearly.

        1. Kathleen Smith Avatar
          Kathleen Smith

          Sure did. They just couldn’t convince him to graduate.

        2. Kathleen Smith Avatar
          Kathleen Smith

          Also, schools aren’t trained to worry about white males not Making it. They don’t count in a subgroup unless they are poor.

      2. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        or he didn’t engage them……

        Most teachers do their thing… but not all students take advantage of it… don’t blame the teacher…

        1. Kathleen Smith Avatar
          Kathleen Smith

          Larry, I have much experience with dropouts as I ran dropout programs for many years. I would say it is more on the part of the teacher to motivate the kid rather than the kid being motivated. Motivated kids – tend to do well with traditional teacher motivation (grades, comments, etc.). Some kids can’t get past the purpose of education. This is a much harder kid to motivate to finish traditional school. Honestly, 90% of my dropouts were brighter than most kids in honor’s classes. Kids need teachers for the very reason of motivation and engagement.

        2. Kathleen Smith Avatar
          Kathleen Smith

          Larry, I have much experience with dropouts as I ran dropout programs for many years. I would say it is more on the part of the teacher to motivate the kid rather than the kid being motivated. Motivated kids – tend to do well with traditional teacher motivation (grades, comments, etc.). Some kids can’t get past the purpose of education. This is a much harder kid to motivate to finish traditional school. Honestly, 90% of my dropouts were brighter than most kids in honor’s classes. Kids need teachers for the very reason of motivation and engagement.

          1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
            James Wyatt Whitehead

            Every word you said is true. I had a few hard heads and sweathogs in class over the years. You would be surprised how many did straighten themselves out. Usually thanks to the guiding hand of a teacher or mentor.

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I had that very experience … and I STILL remember that teacher… she said words to me about my ability and potential… that she said was up to me to develop… and not others that I might blame.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Good Grief! Kathleen IS responding to my comment!

            lord. lord.!!!

            You’re a teacher. I’m not. I have a lot of teacher friends. I listen to all of you as I know I’m largely ignorant on the issue.

            And I think you are 100% correct on motivation but a very close friend of mine who taught said something similar to what you said:

            ” Some kids can’t get past the purpose in education. This is a much harder kid to motivate to finish traditional school. Honestly, 90% of my dropouts were brighter than most kids in honor’s classes. ”

            is this the teacher fault especially when the teacher has pretty good success with other kids?

            If a teacher gets 9 out of 10 or even 7 out of 10.. is that teacher still not a good enough teacher and it’s more their fault than the kid?

            Some kids, as they say “bloom late”… no matter how good the message, they don’t receive it until much later..sometimes too late…

            but you know… you’re the teacher, the person who does this work and whose words reflect real world realities.

            “

          4. Kathleen Smith Avatar
            Kathleen Smith

            Teachers strive for 10 out of 10.

          5. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            They DO! Teachers are the salt of the earth! When a kid fails, it’s not often/usually because a teacher failed him/her. I’m been so fortunate in my adult life to have a circle of friends, most of who are or have been career public school teachers. They work their backsides off and almost never give up on a kid. Not every person can do that job. They’re special people.

    2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
      James Wyatt Whitehead

      For better or worse, Anthony is living his life on his terms. He will be in Roanoke for a slot of time during a heavy metal music festival in 3 weeks.

      I noticed union balladeer and Woody Guthrie admirer, Billy Bragg wrote a rebuttal to Oliver’s hit. Opposite interpretations of the same problem.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGNFR7pgxDY

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

        “…worked multiple manufacturing job…”

        Begs the question if any of those shops were unionized, doesn’t it.

        Gotta love Billy, man…

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          A very common thread is “working for the man” where you work for “the man”.

          What you do or not do is determined by “the man”.

          That’s one of the number one things I hear from folks who become entrepreneurs..they want to work for themselves… and if they are successful, THEY become “the Man” !

          I worked for “the man” for 34 years… I had to do a lot of things that I did not think were the best way or wonderful or whatever but that boat sailed when I signed up to work for “the Man”!

          Anyone who tried to make this into a left or right thing… is pretty lame IMO.
          .

      2. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        I don’t begrudge him his songs but I just have this thing no matter left or right of blaming others for your own plight.

        He made some choices that had direct consequences to himself. Own them first.

        1. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          He made some choices that had direct consequences to himself. Own them first.

          How do you know he hasn’t?

      3. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        A pro-union ‘rebuttal’? But Oliver’s song isn’t anti-union as far as I can tell.

        In my opinion, Billy Bragg isn’t fit to shine Woody Guthrie’s shoes – even if he’s a member of the Shoeshine Boy’s Local 10-1/2 D.

      4. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        A pro-union ‘rebuttal’? But Oliver’s song isn’t anti-union as far as I can tell.

        In my opinion, Billy Bragg isn’t fit to shine Woody Guthrie’s shoes – even if he’s a member of the Shoeshine Boy’s Local 10-1/2 D.

      5. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        A pro-union ‘rebuttal’? But Oliver’s song isn’t anti-union as far as I can tell.

        In my opinion, Billy Bragg isn’t fit to shine Woody Guthrie’s shoes – even if he’s a member of the Shoeshine Boy’s Local 10-1/2 D.

      6. Kathleen Smith Avatar
        Kathleen Smith

        Unions??? In this great Commonwealth outside of Tidewater and NOVA. Maybe coal.

        1. how_it_works Avatar
          how_it_works

          Public sector unions for the Federal employees in NoVA are a thing.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Police and EMS also have unions all throughout Va.

            Many/most of the contractors for VDOT are unionized.

            UPS is unionized .

            Airline Pilots are unionized.

          2. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            The Verizon guy who showed up an hour late to install FIOS is unionized.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Yep. there are quite a few unions…. even in “right-to-work” states!

          4. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            union or not, when you call for service to your house, you’re on a que… and it depends on how long the guy in front of you took to get fixed… not a union thing, a free-market business thing…

          5. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            It was the FIRST install of the day. I specifically scheduled it with Verizon so it would be the first install of the day, wrongly assuming that would get the guy to arrive on time. To top it off, when the guy finally showed up he didn’t even knock on the door. I opened the door just as he was backing out to leave. If that guy is still working, he probably HATES ring cameras.

          6. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            seen that also… in non-union guys… not sure it’s a “union” thing… lots of companies and workers do these things…. yes.. I go to Doctor – FIRST appointment of the day and guess what? He’s LATE just like he is later in the day! I go to the hospital with a 8am appt… at 10am.. they come get me!
            not a union thing… per se!

          7. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            No, it’s not a union thing, I’ve seen it with non-union operations too.

          8. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Police and EMS also have unions all throughout Va.

            If these Police and EMS are public employees, then their unions are unions in name only. They cannot strike.

            Correction, the may not strike. Obviously they CAN strike, they just instantly forfeit their jobs.

          9. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Yes. But unions are very effective in many other ways besides striking. RIght?

          10. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            If they haven’t got the threat of strike, however subtly it may be entwined in their rhetoric, then a union loses the vast majority of its power right out of the gate.

      7. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        A pro-union ‘rebuttal’? But Oliver’s song isn’t anti-union as far as I can tell.

        In my opinion, Billy Bragg isn’t fit to shine Woody Guthrie’s shoes – even if he’s a member of the Shoeshine Boy’s Local 10-1/2 D.

        1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
          James Wyatt Whitehead

          Billy Bragg has been out of ideas for decades now. Not a nice guy to work with from what I have read.

    3. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      Would you ask those same questions of everyone who applies for welfare?

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        repeat the question, you’re deep in the thread.

        I grew up in a blue-collar family… generations of farmer and blue-collar and was told and believed that doing good in school was a ticket to a better life…AND that “learning” is a lifetime thing… not “over” at graduation.

        Don’t be blaming others for what you didn’t do yourself – yes.. applies all around.

        1. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          The questions in your first comment.

          1. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            Just think of all the headaches we could’ve avoided if we have just stopped blaming other people and paid the Tea Act Tax in 1773.

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            it would help if you would reference the passage you are asking about… I’ll answer when I’m sure what you are asking.

          3. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            …didn’t he have opportunity himself when he received a “free” k-12 education and other education opportunities that would have given him “better” than the manufacturing jobs?

            Who prevented him from taking advantage of the opportunities he did have – as others have… gone on to college, got better jobs, etc?

          4. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            …didn’t he have opportunity himself when he received a “free” k-12 education and other education opportunities that would have given him “better” than the manufacturing jobs?

            Who prevented him from taking advantage of the opportunities he did have – as others have… gone on to college, got better jobs, etc?

    4. Lee Faust Avatar
      Lee Faust

      Parents probably from the same mold, sadly.

      1. Kathleen Smith Avatar
        Kathleen Smith

        One shouldn’t make assumptions.

      2. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        One of the most valuable “free goody” that we give to every kid born or immigrated to the US is an education. Without that education, as bad as some claim it is, we’d be yet another 3rd world country. Public education is what powered the US to one of the top countries in the world and yet we have folks like this guy – who was given that education… blaming others for his “plight”. Nope, not even when MTG and Karie Lake play in that game.

        1. James Kiser Avatar
          James Kiser

          Apparently you don’t get out much do you, parts of the US especially the cities but even suburban areas are 3rd world like now.

    5. walter smith Avatar
      walter smith

      It’s hard to always be wrong, but you haven’t lost your skill, even after an extended absence.
      Why would going to community college “better” himself? Elitist assumptions much?
      Maybe he just wants a simple life. Maybe he just wants to be mostly left alone and not feel like his government is against him and everything he has known and that all normal people know? There are two sexes. Lying is wrong. Grooming kids is wrong. Abusing welfare is wrong. Personal responsibility is…personal! Maybe the 300 pound morbidly obese person should …stop eating fudge rounds!
      The only way not to understand what he is saying is to be a Leftist. I love all the troll comments on his YouTube about his right wing backing…
      The psy ops aren’t working like they used to people…
      People are waking up to have some doubt about “the experts” and to trust their common sense.

  2. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    This fellow will probably exceed Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame maximum, but may start to peter out at about 15 days. Maybe two or three more promos on BR?

    1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      A little harsh, Steve. Fact: Still the #1 song on Apple Music. https://www.popvortex.com/music/charts/top-100-songs.php#:~:text=The%20chart%20of%20the%20current%20best%20selling%20hot,Men%20North%20of%20Richmond%20by%20Oliver%20Anthony%20Music.

      1. walter smith Avatar
        walter smith

        Was just short of 30 million views this morning.

    2. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Who’s promoting who? How many articles until it ceases being reporting and becomes exploitative?

  3. Bill Theus Avatar
    Bill Theus

    I worked in manufacturing jobs during the summer from the time I was fifteen until I finished UVa. I even worked six months in a manufacturing job as part of a training program after college.

    The experience was invaluable. I worked with and got to know numerous men of backgrounds very similar to this young man. They are not stupid…in fact, there is an odd brilliance in many of them. I came to be good friends with a bunch of them, and I admired them for their work ethic and their skills that I certainly didn’t have.

    Don’t underestimate these folks.

    1. Peyton Avatar
      Peyton

      Thanks for your insight. I was working on a similarly-themed response. It’s sad how condescending people can be – seems to be a default setting for many.

    2. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      When I first graduated from high school and was not headed to college, I KNEW I was in deep doo doo. I had not come from a family with entrepreneurs… they were mostly farmer who had joined the service in WWII.

      I worked at a number of different non-manufcturing jobs … including shoe salesman, toy dept manager, tile/flooring company “helper”, and a Phillips 66 service station…

      I knew back then I had a limited future.

      But I did not blame anyone… It was on me to do something.

    3. Randy Huffman Avatar
      Randy Huffman

      Thank you too for your insight. Most of the commentaries here trashing this young man are clueless on what he is saying. I grew up in blue collar family and I know exactly what he is saying and feeling.

  4. Lefty665 Avatar
    Lefty665

    He might be well advised to take one $8M offer, and limit the traveling entourage… He could pay off his land, get a new tarp for his roof and have some change left over for beer.

    1. Kathleen Smith Avatar
      Kathleen Smith

      Against his morals.

  5. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Add in the “rich folks” right after locus…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U9Yl5CXvcQ

  6. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    “Look, look Daddy! It’s Joe the Plumber Singer!”

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      We’ve seen this movie before… it’s tried and true.

      But who got Joe the Plumber/Singer social security and health care?

      Joe the Plumber needs to look around a little at who is actually looking out for him, his health care, his minimum wage, his overtime, etc.. and who spends time trying to kill it….

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Gosh, the Plantation Elite capitalizing on this poor fella’s plight. How much does one send someone for 3 or 4 articles on him? Shall we ask James?

        This man’s exploitation has just begun.

  7. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “…worked multiple manufacturing jobs and fractured his skull from a bad fall at work…”

    Woah, I wonder what the backstory to this is…? Union shop? OSHA incident? Workers comp claim? Disability? Seems like this is all potentially relevant to his musical complaints. Maybe the rich men to blame are really in Farmville after all…

  8. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “I am sad to see the world in the state it’s in, with everyone fighting with each other.”

    “…so I thought I would write a song to vilify an entire segment of the population based on where they live…”

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      … and no shortage of folks of one type of political stripe hanging on for the ride…

      the irony is that conservative pols don’t vote for laws to support the common working man… they talk the talk… for sure…

      any bets on whether this guys shows up for the pre-show for a Trump rally? 😉

  9. David Wojick Avatar
    David Wojick

    A truly fun issue. Wonder if he is related to the old timey singer Bascom Lunsford?
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bascom_Lamar_Lunsford
    This situation reminds me of his song “I wish I was a mole in the ground”

    “If I was a mole in the ground I’d tear that mountain down.”

    Onward!

    1. Lefty665 Avatar
      Lefty665

      That was my first question too. 🙂

      1. David Wojick Avatar
        David Wojick

        Mind you mole in the ground is not a labor protest song and it may be root that mountain down but it sure fits. Root may be better because we have to root them out.

        Plus rich men north of Richmond has a nice poetic quality. Not that I exempt Richmond.

  10. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    It is really interesting how conservatives have latched onto this man and his song as validation of their positions. But, a good look at some of his lines can lead to a different conclusion:

    “I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
    Overtime hours fro bullshit pay”

    Shades of Tennessee Ernie Ford and “Sixteen Tons”. The song is correct–over the last 20 years or so, wages have stagnated, while executive pay and corporate profits have soared. That is why some politicians have supported increases in the minimum wage.

    “I wish politians would look out for miners”

    Some politicians are doing just that. All Democrats in Congress voted for permanent funding for the Black Lung Disability Fund. The American Rescuse Plan included $200 million of Mine Safety and Health Administration and the Inflation Reduction Act included $4 billion for projects in communities with closed coal mines or retired coal plants.

    This ballad echoes what Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been saying all along.

    1. Kathleen Smith Avatar
      Kathleen Smith

      Miners have lost jobs. It isn’t about health only.

      1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
        Dick Hall-Sizemore

        I understand that. Those jobs have been lost for several reasons. One primary reason has been that coal is more expensive that natural gas. That $4 billion is meant to help those who have lost jobs in the coal fields transition to clean energy or other areas.

        1. Kathleen Smith Avatar
          Kathleen Smith

          Got it. Question- 4 billion? They will have to rebuild infrastructure. In other words the problem goes beyond throwing money around. The entire economy has to be changed.

          1. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            Thus illustrating why the words “I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help” are indeed still the 9 most terrifying words in the English Language.

    2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
      James Wyatt Whitehead

      Mr. Dick, I don’t think Anthony is necessarily political one way or the other. He seems somewhere in the middle. His message is really about working class folks looking out for each other. The singer is not looking for a lifeline from a union, Youngkin, or the big brass in Nashville.

      1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
        Dick Hall-Sizemore

        I did not mean to imply that he is political. However, conservative “influencers” have seized upon him and his song for partisan purposes. https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1690043917046099970

        1. Matt Adams Avatar
          Matt Adams

          “I did not mean to imply that he is political. However, conservative “influencers” have seized upon him and his song for partisan purposes.”

          And your bedfellows on this very blog have done the opposite to tear him down, with nary a word from you.

          To act as if this is limited to a singular side, is naïve at best.

        2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
          James Wyatt Whitehead

          Agreed. Cuts both ways. The left has villainized him.

      2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        A union IS working class people looking out for each other.

        1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
          James Wyatt Whitehead

          More like union bosses looking out for themselves at the expense of the members. That was my experience.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            obviously not the ones you had in your classes?

            😉

    3. Matt Adams Avatar
      Matt Adams

      “Biden said, “Anybody who can go down 3,000 feet in a mine can sure as hell learn to program as well… Anybody who can throw coal into a furnace can learn how to program, for God’s sake!” ”

      “Inflation Reduction Act included $4 billion for projects in communities with closed coal mines or retired coal plants.”

      Rather ironic you’re pointing to the Inflation Reduction Act, while ignoring the chorus.

      “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.”

      “This ballad echoes what Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been saying all along.”

      Sen. Sanders and Sen. Warren want big Government, which mean the anthesis of the chorus, perhaps you should read before you write?

      1. Randy Huffman Avatar
        Randy Huffman

        I was about to make a similar but less comprehensive response. Thank you.

        I hate to be condescending, but feel most posters on this and other sites attacking this young man are simply clueless. Many see their power to sway hard working people eroding, and have no idea what to do about it.

        1. Matt Adams Avatar
          Matt Adams

          What you’re seeing is the standard. Everything must be seen through the left/right paradigm, that’s how the aristocracy want it, it’s keep them in power. Mr. Lunsford made no statement for or against a specific party, he’s stated he doesn’t like either.

          Different sides to the same corrupt coin with the plebes parroting party talking points, lacking the understanding to think for themselves.

          1. Lefty665 Avatar
            Lefty665

            Thinking for themselves is hard work. It’s much easier just to ditz along in the echo chamber and feel good about being virtue to the other side’s evil.

            p.s. Clearly Biden has no clue what skills are needed to program, but that is not a surprise.

            Riding a coal car 3k feet down into a mine or wielding a shovel to feed a furnace are not among them. Nor are those the only abilities miners and firemen have that would qualify them to learn to program.

          2. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            Amen, praise the Lord and pass and ammunition!

  11. Tom B Avatar
    Tom B

    After reading the comments from the left, it’s obvious that they still consider Oliver and his ilk ‘bitter clingers’ and ‘a basket of deplorables’. They only want Oliver around when their septic tank needs cleaning or the A/C dies.

    In a crisis, one Oliver with a pickup and a 30-30 is worth more than 1,000 PhDs. The Olivers of the world don’t have the luxury of living in their fantasies. If they get it wrong, hot dogs come off the table and rice and beans come back on. The left buys their way out of the consequences of their mistakes with subsidies, tax incentives, etc. And when Oliver complains, they tell him to shut up.

    You don’t have to have a college degree to see the problem. In fact, the isolated thinking and sense of intellectual superiority it often creates is an impediment

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