Rich Men North of Richmond: The Song
Perhaps you’ve heard the song ‘Rich Men North of Richmond‘ that Oliver Anthony released via YouTube on August 8. It’s already had over 25 million views, after only 10 days. Top of the iTunes charts, too.
Sauce Only quickly released a lyric video. (Warning: Rated PG-13).
What People Are Saying
Conservative commentator Matt Walsh calls it the protest song of our generation. Music reviewer South Wynd said there are very few songs that make me emotional the very first time I hear them. John Lovell of the Warrior Poet Society published a helpful break-down of the lyrics. Stevie Knight reacted to the song, saying: Oliver Anthony dropped the people’s anthem. (Warning: R-rated review.) For another viewpoint, watch as a black liberal reacts to Oliver Anthony.
Conor Friedersdorf, writing for The Atlantic, asks: why is so much press coverage of this viral song focused solely on politics? “Anthony should be judged by his own actions and words, not the social-media posts of right-wing opportunists with an incentive to associate themselves with anything popular that is not obviously left-coded. Preemptively assigning figures such as Anthony to existing ideological or culture-war factions is needlessly polarizing and can even be self-fulfilling.”
Rich men in cities like Washington DC, and New York want to control what you think — even about this song. But there are thousands of reactions to the song from every political and socio-economic perspective. Research it yourself. TaraBull retweeted 0rf’s compilation, showing what people really think.
Do Rich Men North of Richmond Know What You Think?
The song has a verse that says: “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.”
The amazing viral spread of this song proves that powerful men using AI (artificial intelligence) can’t really control what you think. Google knows what you are searching for. Facebook knows what you like, and Pinterest knows what you are interested in. The ‘Twitter Files’ reveal back channel AI tools used by feds to censor posts. But only God knows what you are actually thinking.
Wicked Men & Psalm 37
At his concert last Saturday, Oliver Anthony read a few verses from Psalm 37. Starting at verse 12: “The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He sees that his day is coming.” (Read the whole Psalm here).
As Jesus said in Matthew 10:26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” Or in Luke 8:17 “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”
Judgement Day and the Ultimate Questions in Life
The apostle Paul echoes the theme of Jesus and the Psalmist in his letter to the Romans: “… the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them, on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”
See also, What Are the Ultimate Questions in Life?
Final Thoughts
Maybe Drew Green (Good Ol Man) and Oliver Anthony will meet at a music festival and encourage each other.