There’s a new song that should be scaring Lefties far more than the phantom white supremacists lurking around the corner or the insurrectionists under their beds. We are witnessing a genuine lightning-in-a-bottle moment right before our eyes, as a desperate young man exquisitely captures the angst of America’s normals. Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” is a gut-punch of despair, born of decades of ratcheting, idiotic policies wringing the common sense, community, and opportunity out of this country.
“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,” wrote my PJ Media colleague Jeff Reynolds on Saturday. (As of this writing, the number of views is 9.4 million and climbing.) “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.”
The turnout at Anthony’s first-ever gig — which the singer aptly referred to as “this moment in history” — wasn’t too shabby, either:
Ya’ll filled 25 acres with cars for the first-ever gig! I am so proud to be a part of this moment in history.
Thanks to everyone who stayed after for photos and to tell me your story. It means more than words can describe.
If you couldn’t make it 👇
— Oliver Anthony (@AintGottaDollar) August 14, 2023
Political scientist Charles Lipson at Real Clear Politics explains what’s going on with “Rich Men:”
It’s a battle cry for people who want to resist the control of big money and big government but know they are losing the fight. They resent being investigated by the FBI as potential terrorists when they speak out at school board meetings or affiliate with a traditional branch of the Catholic Church. They see a government eager to prosecute political candidates from one party but not the other. They see violent street riots go unprosecuted and the southern border left open in violation of the law, fairness, and public safety. They see their children shut out of public schools for over a year by teachers unions and so-called experts with more power than evidence.
After the 2016 election, dumbfounded Leftists flocked to read J. D. Vance’s book “Hillbilly Elegy” in an effort to understand what had just happened to them. Now they can be fully warned and informed beforehand simply by listening to a three-minute, 10-second cri de coeur.
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But this is the Left we’re talking about, so they won’t. Rather, they’re going to try to tell us that Oliver Anthony and the people who like his song are stupid and bad.
“…you can bet that he will soon be accused of xenophobia, racism, and all the rest of it, now that the song is popular,” predicts Lipson. “The people who will dump that sludge at the New York Times and on cable channels are the same people Anthony is targeting. They will use their megaphones to damn him.”
Rolling Stone, for example, was quick to dismiss the song as a right-wing screed:
“Rich Men North of Richmond” is a passionate screed against the state of the country and right-wing influencers are very into it.
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) August 11, 2023
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The song title — Rich Men North of Richmond — is, for those who struggle with geography, a reference to the burgeoning population of busybodies and central planners who live north of Richmond, Va. — up in and around our benighted capital. It’s 2024’s euphemism for the Swamp.
Watch out, Lefties. The real grass-roots populists are sprouting up again.
Take a listen if you haven’t already!
