OPINION: “Rich Men North of Richmond” confuses and infuriates the political binary
Oliver Anthony’s rise to musical fame has been unlike any other.
He isn’t an established name in the business, he doesn’t come from wealth, he doesn’t have promoters and marketers selling his message. But a three-minute clip of a dude, his dogs and some plain-spoken lyrics about low wages and rich politicians proved to be enough to sit atop the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks straight.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” has been, without question, the political song of the year. Which is interesting: because despite the fervor and drool in the mouths of partisan hacks, it doesn’t seem to particularly advocate any kind of agenda except authenticity.
Right-wing media immediately lauded the tune as its new anthem: a melody for the white-working class and nostalgic ode to old American values. Commentators like Matt Walsh and Ben Shapiro propped it up on their respective channels, former Arizona Gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake deemed it the “anthem of this moment in American history,” and firebrand Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called it an ode to the forgotten Americans “who truly support this nation.” Presidential candidate Ron Desantis used it as an opportunity to point the finger at the current administration, calling President Biden and the democratic establishment “The Rich Men North of Richmond” that have caused American decline.
Many liberals for their part, were eager to play into this narrative too. Columnists lambasted the song’s supposed punching down of social-safety net policies, with references to “the obese milkin’ welfare”, and were quick to dismiss it as an astroturfed, incoherent, populist ballad.
But when asked to respond to the song being featured at the Republican primary debate, Anthony dispensed with the outrage addicts on both sides.
“It was funny seeing that presidential debate, I wrote that song about those people,” Anthony stated with a smile, ripping the rug out from under the feet of the elected officials who lauded his name weeks earlier.
In the next breath, he parried the blows from his critics: “I see the right, trying to characterize me as one of their own. And I see the left trying to discredit me.”
He noted liberals had misinterpreted his lyrics as being attacks on the poor when he was trying to defend them, stating, “I’ve got to be clear that my message like with any of my songs, it references the inefficiencies of the government.”
Eager to impose their own philosophies on this earnest and honest country ballad, our political culture was quick to either label it as venomous filth for a non-politically-correct comment about food stamps, or the words of a right-wing messiah for decrying high taxes.
The message that really should have been taken away is this: Oliver Anthony is not some proud foot soldier for a conservative uprising, or an ignorant simpleton who beats down on the poor for clicks. He is a person with nuanced beliefs informed by lived experiences of poverty, depression and addiction. He takes issue with a government ecosystem that provides little aid and empathy for the struggling, and one that most Americans can agree neither major party is the antidote for.
Much like you can’t pin a singular label on the identity of “Rich Men North of Richmond,” you can’t on the listeners to it either. As United States Senator Chris Murphy notes, a quick probe through social media will see a message that resonates across racial and political divides and attracts listeners from every region of the country and the world. More than anything, “Rich Men North of Richmond” highlights that Americans are not cheerleaders for two opposing worldviews, but complex people who arrive at their views through the environments that cultivate them.
Does that mean I endorse some of the misinformed and conspiratorial videos on Anthony’s YouTube playlist? No. Does it mean that I think the small portion of the lyrics which jab at obesity and welfare are in good taste? Certainly not.
But if we are to be consumed by our offense and fetishize the points of controversy on any piece of art and ignore its totality – we do a great disservice to gleaning any kind of educational value from it. “Rich Men North of Richmond” confuses and infuriates the political binary because human beings are more complex than what lights up your Twitter feed.
So I leave you with this choice: what message are you going to take away from “Rich Men North of Richmond?” Will you declare it as a mindless poor-shaming ballad, a populist hero song, or the nuanced product of a complex person’s lived experiences? Will you think of it as political cannon fodder, or a sign to more richly engage with the “why” behind people’s values? I believe we will find far more healing in the latter.
