Meaning of “Rich Men North Of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony
Oliver Anthony is yet another one musician who has managed to achieve notable success via a single hit song, despite lacking mainstream notoriety himself. That is to say that he doesn’t have a Wikipedia page as of this writing. Furthermore, as of the release of “Rich Men of North Richmond” on 8 August 2023, he doesn’t appear to be recognized on any of the various celebrity birthday sites which tend to be more accommodating towards lesser stars.
According to Rolling Stone, Oliver considers himself to be a farmer who has decided to live “off the grid”. He actually currently resides in Farmville, Virginia. Oliver only recently got into music, with there being only a few songs in his discography (as of this writing). One of the earliest songs in his discography is a song titled “Rich Man’s Gold”, which came out in 2022.
The Success of “Rich Men North of Richmond”
At this point it is safe to say that “Rich Men North of Richmond” is the song that ushered Oliver into the spotlight. And there are a couple of reasons why this song caught on. One of the reasons is the song’s authenticity. Also the political commentaries embedded in its lyrics are things many Americans can relate to.
The Lyrics of “Rich Men North Of Richmond”
Indeed, another benefit to being a relatively unknown musician like Oliver Anthony, who both wrote and produced this track, is that you can get away with saying things that mainstream artists cannot, at least not without the risk of being cancelled.
For instance, “these rich men from north of Richmond” is obviously a less-than-flattering reference to the powers that be. In other words, the capital of the United States, which is Washington, D.C., is indeed north of Richmond, Virginia. And as presented, the “rich men” who preside there “wanna have total control”. Furthermore, these men “wanna know what you do”. All in all they are power freaks, if you will.
Oliver goes on to attack what he perceives as the messed up state of the American Dollar. So it’s as if he’s saying, in the chorus, that the people who are running the country aren’t doing a good job.
“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 shit, and it’s taxed to no end
‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond”
The alleged racial connotation in the lyrics
It has also been suggested that there might be a racial connotation to this song. Some see the “north of Richmond” being a reference to the Union, harping back to the days when the country was split as a result of the American Civil War. That would then imply that the vocalist is along the lines of a Confederate. But overall, this song does not appear to be race-based.
For example, it may be argued that in lambasting “obese” welfare recipients, Anthony is attacking certain Black people. But there are virtually the same amount of White people on welfare as there are African-Americans.
Furthermore, welfare has done more to help Whites overcome poverty than any other group. And as far as obesity goes, according to the CDC that disease does affect more Blacks more than Whites, but not by a ridiculously large percentage.
So with that said, what the vocalist is really getting at via that reference is the idea that, the way he sees it, people who genuinely need help, such as the homeless, are being denied. In his eyes, govvie is rather looking out for individuals on welfare who, on the surface, appear as if they don’t need it.
Or put otherwise, Anthony seems to be one of those types who believes that the last thing overweight people need is free food, especially if it’s at the expense of others who are lacking.
Jeffrey Epstein’s case pops up
With that in mind, the vocalist also alludes to the infamous Jeffrey Epstein case. He does so by insinuating that high-powered politicians are more concerned with fulfilling their lusts, so to speak, than looking out for their vulnerable constituents.
The canker of suicide
Additionally, Oliver hints at the fact that suicide in the United States is at all-time high and that those who are particularly vulnerable, according to the CDC, are older, not “young men” as mentioned in the song. And perhaps it should also be pointed that that it is White men more than any other group that have been suicidal of late.
The System isn’t being fair to us!
At the end of the day this song may have racial undertones, but calling it racist would be a stretch. It isn’t a secret that many White men in particular feel that the system, which was once staunchly on their side, has now turned against them. And all lyrics considered, it definitely wouldn’t be out of the way to speculate that this piece was in part inspired by such sentiments.
But the target of the vocalist’s ire, the “rich men north of Richmond”, definitely aren’t Black people. In other words, the likes of the political and business leaders that D.C. is composed of are, by and large, not Black.
At the heart of Oliver’s gripe is the belief that they are not treating people fairly. This is made evident by the fact that Oliver personally works his ass off day in day out. He even ‘sells his soul’ in the process of working hard, but at the end of the day has nothing to show for it but “bullsh*t pay”.
In describing the thesis sentiment behind this track, Anthony has pointed out that it “centers on the problems of the working class”. He went on to further state that he not only wants to be “a voice for” for overworked yet underpaid but also “humans in general”.
So this is a class-based song more than anything else it might be. And what has the singer perturbed, once again based on his own experience and Anthony’s description of this song, is the fact that he and others like him can’t get ahead no matter how much work they put in. This is because “the dollar’s not worth enough” and “they’re being overtaxed”.
Doesn’t matter the fact of who’s on welfare or not…to my dad, the ones on welfare are the blacks and you ain’t going to talk him out of it with facts (which are made up by liberal Democrats).
When we talk about who’s using welfare in the U.S., it’s a mixed bag. While White Americans, given their larger numbers, often top the list in pure numbers (like for SNAP), when you look at the percentage compared to their population, African Americans come out on top. And hey, let’s not forget the rapidly growing Hispanic and Latino crew who also make up a big chunk. And remember, “welfare” isn’t just one thing—it’s a mix of programs, and who’s using what can change depending on where you’re at. But a heads-up: let’s talk about this topic without falling into stereotype traps, okay?
” Youg Men ” Six feet in the ground. Suicide at all-time high. Murder rates in the cities, Highest in over 40 years. Also, fentanyl deaths at about 400 per day across the country. And why? On all of above… We ” ALL ” need to pull together as one !!!
…when all is said and done, good for him,I hope he makes bank on it. It’s a protest song. We like it for awhile. (“it’s got a good beat, and you can dance to it!”), a lot of folk can “relate” to it. It is “meaningful” to others…
It gets air-play, some adopt it as a new anthem, rave on about it, then fades away until the next angry statement is sung.
If we were warned before, if we’ve had anthems before, why not heed to those? What of our Mr. Dylan, with his dire warnings of things to come? The Stones- “Salt of The Earth”, “Sympathy for the Devil”, or “Gimme Shelter”?
Anthems and message songs have been around since the first jesters and strolling minstrels. We hear them! But we just don’t “get it”…
Your dollar aint sht… great article, but it did not underline why your dollar aint sht.
… because the ruling class is printing trillions out of thin air to fund what ever they want. Not to fund things that build up the country or feed the homeless, rather to fund their evil agenda.
He is a Marxist and doesn’t know I wish Biden would invite him to the White House before he is stolen by the right. Probably one of the best protest songs since Woody Guthrie
It’s almost comical that people interpret his lines about “obese people on welfare” literally and not as obvious allegory for huge corporations and CEOs with their 0 dollar taxes on record profits, and trillions in handouts from the government.
I thought about this also. I wonder if he meant it that way though. i guess it could go either way
I thought the line about “young men” “putting themselves 6 feet in the ground” was that same obese guy eating his fudge rounds till he suffers a heart attack, and all this damn country does is kickin them down by paying for his bags of fudge rounds.