There’s a new twist in the very American myth of the common man who, fed up with his voice not being heard, is raising it against the system. It takes the form of a tall guy with a red beard and a guitar. Oliver Anthony is a country folk singer who has not been doing too well until recently. But his life, marked by mental problems and alcoholism, suddenly changed when he uploaded a music video on August 11th. In it he can be seen in the middle of the forest, accompanied by two of his three dogs, singing a ballad called “Rich Men North of Richmond.” He plays with words and criticizes the poor state of the world that the rich men beyond the capital of Virginia have left to him and those like him. Richmond was also the capital of the Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861-65).
About 100 miles north of Richmond—which forms a kind of mental border between the South and the North—is Washington, D.C., home of the elite and capital of the Union. Anthony accuses the powerful men of this city of “selling their souls” and suffocating the common people with inflation and taxes. He accuses them of doing everything to control people.
The song would have appealed to Ronald Reagan, who coined the phrase, “Government is not the solution, it is the problem.” The Republican president, who governed from 1981 to 1989, was also known for attacking those on welfare.
Billy Bragg – the famous British singer-songwriter who finds himself on the left side of the political spectrum – responded to Anthony’s ballad a few weeks after its release with an op-ed in the Guardian in which he writes: “Oliver Anthony’s “A divisive song, By demanding solidarity with the workers, it only benefits the rich who exploit them.” He also accuses the folk singer of playing some oppressed people off against others.
The Republican anthem
Prominent figures on the political and media right rushed to embrace the message of authenticity (or at least the illusion of it) that the Rich Men North of Richmond video conveyed. They thought they had found the perfect anthem of working, forgotten America against Joe Biden’s “socialist regime.” And so Anthony – who unexpectedly hit number one on the charts and racked up more than 60 million views on YouTube and 50 million listens on Spotify – found himself at the center of a culture war.
Before the uncomfortable battle that marked the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Fox News organizers opened with Anthony’s music video. They then asked participants for their thoughts on why they think this touched a nerve in American society. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “Our country is in decline…those rich men north of Richmond put us in this situation.”
Funnily enough, the next day – perhaps another sign that everyone is conspiring against DeSantis and his languishing quest for the White House – the musician responded with another video. For ten minutes he said that he also thinks Governor DeSantis and the rest of those behind the lecterns in Milwaukee are rich men north of Richmond (or rich women, considering Nikki Haley). “This is not about Joe Biden,” he added. “It’s much bigger than him.” And the truth is that the magic of his song has extended beyond conservative audiences: His ballad has resonated with listeners across the political spectrum who have bought into the idea of the common man and his list of complaints against power.
Anthony’s success came amid a profitable season for country music in the United States, thanks to another hit from Jason Aldean – a Trumpist troubadour from rural America. Aldean, who hails from Macon, Georgia – and is very comfortable with the marriage of country music and conservative values – recently released a song called Try That in a Small Town. It is intended to be a defense of the life and customs of small American towns against the liberal depravity and crimes of the cities.
Aldean’s music video has caused controversy. That’s in large part because the film was shot in the Tennessee county courthouse where a black boy was lynched in 1927. Country Music Television quickly banned the clip – which depicts images of unrest during the Black Lives Matter protests and security camera footage of store robberies – from airing, saying it spread racist messages and contained verses glorifying armed violence.
Aldean does not hide his sympathy for Donald Trump. He frequently promotes his wife’s brand of T-shirts, which are emblazoned with messages directed at the Biden administration such as “Close the damn border” or slogans such as “That’s not conservatism, that’s common sense.” He defended himself by saying his homage to life in a small community had been mistaken for something else.
The controversy also saw the singer, who has won five Grammys, hit number one on the Billboard chart for the first time in his career. This is perhaps a signal that digital music consumption has made the rankings a rather chaotic and unpredictable affair. Aldean also achieved this in a week in which a historic milestone occurred: the three top spots on the charts were all country songs (the second was Last Night by Morgan Wallen and the third was Fast Car, a version of the Tracy Chapman classic). . , played by Luke Combs).
“The three songs – but especially those by Aldean and Wallen – are hits promoted not so much by fans of the genre but by people interested in promoting a particular political agenda,” explains David Cantwell, writer from The Running Kind: Listening to Merle Haggard, about the outlaw country legend. The strategy denounced by Cantwell would explain why Aldean’s song plummeted to No. 21 on the Billboard charts the following week.
A somewhat schematic view of the matter traditionally associates country music in the United States with conservatism (perhaps with the exception of Dolly Parton). “For the last two years it seemed that way [country music] opened up to other realities, black or queer artists… but the latest hits return to an old pattern: they star angry white men,” lamented Rhodes College professor Charles Hughes during an interview on NPR. While Anthony has made it clear that there is no political motivation at heart, the truth is that the Republican Party has long found the formula for channeling white anger and resentment against elites.
In “Rich Men North of Richmond,” the lyrics include a reference to serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein — a line that has drawn scrutiny from both the left and the right. However, it was difficult to get Anthony to explain his thoughts further. He has granted a single interview to Joe Rogan. Taking to his social media, the singer claimed he turned down an $8 million offer from a multinational record label.
Not only is Anthony hard to grasp for the media and record companies, it’s also difficult for his fans to see him live. While his schedule is currently filled with appearances at festivals across Central America – from Kentucky to Missouri – he has only performed a few times at clubs in North Carolina and at a concert (which sold out immediately) in Farmville. Virginia, his hometown – about an hour south of Richmond.
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