“I sold my soul, working all day, overtime for ridiculous pay,
so I can stand here and waste my life, drag myself home and drown my worries.”
So begins the song Rich Men North of Richmond – the surprise summer Internet hit in the US, apparently touching the souls of workers not only in America, but also in other countries.
The country track is by a man from the state of Virginia who goes by the name Oliver Anthony. He is not a professional musician, but a worker who – in his own words – is disillusioned with the world we live in and the treatment of working people.
This is what his popular song is dedicated to – the hardships facing workers and how rich politicians don’t care.
“I wish the politicians would take care of the miners, and not looking around for minors on an island somewhere.
God, there are people on the street who have nothing to eat, and obese people drain welfare” reads the second verse.
A recording of a live performance by Rich Men North of Richmond was uploaded to YouTube on August 9th of this year. In 10 days, the performance collected 23 million views and over 100 thousand comments.
Many of them are from workers not only from the States but also from other parts of the world, who say they recognize themselves in the text and share their own torments.
“I’ve been working as a carpenter for 24 years. I’m barely making ends meet right now, I’m taking care of my two sons alone, my wife left me a week before our anniversary this year, missed my sons birthday, got into drugs and is living with another man.” wrote one of the commenters.
And he, like many others worried about every paycheck, thanked Oliver Anthony for the song. But not only workers appreciate it.
Music producers are apparently trying to sign Anthony after his surprise internet hit. He himself revealed this in a post on his Facebook profile.
“People in the music industry stare blankly at me when I turn down $8 million offers. I don’t want 6 tour buses, 15 trucks and a plane. I don’t want to play stadiums, I don’t want to be in the spotlight,” wrote the author of Rich Men North of Richmond.
According to him, he wrote the song because he was suffering from depression. According to him, his songs connect with listeners on a deep level because they are performed by someone who feels the words in the moment of performance.
“No editing, no agent. No bullshit. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music we didn’t have to give up,” says Anthony.
His claims about the offers made to him by labels may turn out to be the plain truth. Back on Wednesday, rapper Gucci Mane posted a picture of him on Instagram asking for help – he wanted contacts for Anthony because he wanted to sign him to his label.
John Rich, another politically minded singer, also claims to have held talks with Anthony with an offer to produce and finance an album.
The author of the Internet hit is far from rich. He says that in 2019 he bought land for $97,500 and still has $60,000 of that amount to pay. He currently lives in a camper he bought online for $750. According to the description of the clip, his goal is to build a small farm and become an animal breeder.
In the post where he comments on the success of his song, Anthony also gives more information about himself.
“There’s nothing special about me. I’m not a good musician, I’m not a very good person. I’ve spent the last 5 years struggling with mental health issues and using alcohol to drown them out,” the musician admits.
He says he was born Christopher Anthony Lunsfor. Oliver Anthony was the name of his grandfather, to whom the creative pseudonym was dedicated. Christopher/Oliver recounts that in 2010, then 17 years old, he dropped out of high school. He worked at various plants in North Carolina, the last of which was a paper mill.
“I was working third shift, 6 days a week, for $14.50 an hour in a real hell. In 2013, I had a bad fall at work and fractured my skull,” says the musician.
This prompted him to return to Virginia again, where due to complications from his injury, it took 6 months before he could work again.
In the period “from 2014 until a few days ago” he was engaged in sales in industrial production. He says this is how he toured various places in the states of Virginia, North and South Carolina and met “tens of thousands” of lower-class workers, mostly in factories and outdoors.
“I have spent all day, every day for the last 10 years, hearing the same story. People are so tired of being ignored, divided and manipulated,” Anthony wrote.
According to him, he is saddened by the state of the world today, where everyone is fighting with each other. He expresses his sadness that “the greatest country on Earth is rapidly fading.”
Oliver Anthony also says he hates the way the internet divides us all. He perceives it as a parasite that “infects people’s minds”.
“Wasted hours, forgotten goals, loved ones, standing in their homes together, distracted all day by technology created by the hands of other poor souls in factories in a foreign land,” describes the situation Anthony (who, however, found his audience through the Internet and opportunity to share his perspective on the world).
He defines freedom of speech as a priceless gift and says that never in history has the world had as much freedom as it does today. “Don’t let them take it away from you” is his appeal to his new admirers.
And they are not few. Anthony claims to have received over 50,000 messages and emails in the past week from people talking about addictions, unemployment, anxiety and depression.
As for his concerts, they are free for now and a series of them are planned. “Everyone in the ‘industry’ is giving me the go ahead to sign something, but we just want to take it slow right now,” the surprising internet sensation wrote.
This is completely in the spirit of his songs. The interesting thing is whether he will continue to be of this opinion and even more – whether without a major record label behind him he will be able to achieve more than creating an Internet hit.
2023-08-19 14:05:00
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