The truth. People do not like it, so almost everyone has trouble telling it. People divert attention away from situations and systems that are not being handled appropriately in their eyes. Humans fear uncomfortable positions and possible repercussions.
Country singer Oliver Anthony relinquished everything on his mind when he released his song “Rich Men North of Richmond ” on Aug. 11, 2023. His song is No.1 on the all-genre Hot 100 with 23 million streams and 117,000 downloads, according to the tracking service Luminate. Prior to this release, Anthony had been unknown in the music industry. Anthony released a controversial song, and it happens to be one of the most played in the United States right now.
He previously worked in a factory in Virginia and recently quit and decided that writing music is his passion, “Not because I’m a good musician, I hardly know my way around the guitar and my singing’s OK,” said Anthony. He does this because “People are sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I want to be a voice for them,” said Anthony. In his YouTube video, “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he breaks down his new release and what it means.
He explains that the song touches on his time living and growing up in West Carolina which is North of Richmond, Virginia where “People make life a little more difficult than it should be,” said Anthony. The first major issue that he addresses in his song and got a reaction from is sex trafficking.
“I wish politicians looked out for minors, not just minors on an island somewhere,” sings Anthony. He is referring to the Epstein situation when Jeffrey Epstein, a 66-year-old billionaire, was flying young girls, no older than 16, in and out of his secluded island in the United States Virgin Islands in the open after his conviction for sex crimes and the government did nothing to stop him, as stated in the article by Holly Aguirre. That line sung by Anothony got a big reaction from the public, causing comments such as, “I cannot believe he went there”, “I got your back” and “Protect Oliver Anothony at all costs,” said TikTokers reacting to what they call “THAT” line in the song.
He not only touches on what he believes the rich can get away with but also another viewpoint on wealth, “We got folks in the street, ain’t got nothing to eat and the obese milkin’ welfare…young men are putin’ themselves six feet in the ground ‘Cause all this country does is keep on kicking’ them down,” sings Anthony. In this part of the song along with his video, he describes how epidemics, homelessness, drug use and lack of skilled labor are what is causing the suicide rates to skyrocket.
“These things are symptoms of a universal problem. A lot of people know that, but we just don’t talk about it,” says Anthony.
Oliver Anthony is not scared to talk about hard topics. His song has gained more and more support from people who relate to his situation. He has made himself a very personable person. Although a lot of people are taking his side he has been getting his fair share of viewers contradicting his song.
