A song came to life and took flight on YouTube this week. It was posted on August 8, and by late Friday it already had 3.1 million views. It hit #1 on iTunes. Some young guy nobody ever heard of sang a song in the woods in front of his deer stand, with his dogs lying at his feet, and it immediately captured the soul of America.
I haven’t been this affected by music since the first (and second, and hundredth, and thousandth) time I heard “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” or “The Weight” by The Band. Oliver Anthony, with a slightly different style, has just as much soul in his voice as Levon Helm.
Just sit back and experience this:
The soul in his voice matches his absolute mastery of the current mood of flyover America, in which we see our culture, our heritage, and our very ability to make a living crumbling before our eyes.
Oliver has expressed his shock and gratitude at the sudden attention, announcing a couple of free shows coming up to take advantage of his new found fame:
August 13th
Morris Farm Market
Currituck NC
Free Admission
Food and drinks available
1:30pm-2:30pm
Many more shows to follow. Don't stress it if it's a long drive for you. I'll be coming to your town soon. pic.twitter.com/Nz6ueTTMi4— Oliver Anthony (@AintGottaDollar) August 12, 2023
The attention is well-earned. In “Rich Men North of Richmond,” the young man has captured the heartache of watching the American Dream slowly slip away, unattainable and rotting in the street on the nightly news.
Oliver Anthony sings about the soul-crushing task of trying to make a living among all the parasites infecting society in 2023. It defies explanation. It simply must be experienced.
Related: What Is it About Patriotic American Songs That Drives the Left Crazy?
Jason Howerton has a lot more detail in a Twitter thread. Apparently, Anthony has had offers from big-time country recording artists to help him produce a record. Check it out for the personal struggles Anthony has overcome to get to this point.
This song is called "Rich Men North of Richmond." It has been viewed MILLIONS of times.
The artist's name is Oliver Anthony. I just got off the phone with him.
With his permission, I'd like to share the story he told me that moved the deepest parts of my soul…
Thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/sPb7Iylx3d
— Jason Howerton (@jason_howerton) August 11, 2023
I’ll reproduce the lyrics here, but they’re only one aspect of this song. The gut-wrenching quality of his voice drives this home in ways you feel more than you hear.
I’ve been selling my soul, working all day
Overtime hours, bullsh** pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles awayIt’s a damn shame
What the world’s gotten to
People like me, people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true
But it is
Oh it isLivin’ in the new world, with an old soul
The 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
Your dollar ain’t sh**, and it’s taxed to no end
Cuz of rich men north of RichmondI wish politicians would look out for miners
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
God if you’re five foot three and you’re three hundred pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds
Young men are putting themselves six feet in the ground
Cuz all this damn country does is keep on kicking them downLord, 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 isLiving in the new world with an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just want to 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 sh** and it’s taxed to no end
Cuz of rich men north of RichmondI’ve been selling my soul working all day
Overtime hours for bullsh** pay
The song is masterful enough, with its reconstruction-era imagery of rich men in a faraway capital north of Richmond, but what absolutely set me back on my pins was the line, “Livin’ in the new world, with an old soul.” It puts into a simple lyric the feeling we all have inside us that our society is out of phase, out of its proper time.
I don’t know when I’m going to stop listening to this on loop, but it won’t be any time soon. This captures the very best of Americana.
You can follow Oliver Anthony on X at @AintGottaDollar.
BONUS SONG: Here’s another plaintive song he sang, called Ain’t Got A Dollar (But I Don’t Need A Dime):
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