Rich Men North of Richmond
The concentrated power of our Republic
Who are the Rich Men North of Richmond? Are they the swamp? Are they the 1%? The media? The elites? The Rich Men North of Richmond may represent different things to different people. To me, they are our failed leadership. One of concentrated power, which is too easily influenced by fame and fortune rather than by the people they lead.
Oliver Anthony, a high school dropout, blue-collar worker, salesman, and artist, brings the question to the national dialogue with his hit song Rich Men North of Richmond. The song seeped through the monied bureaucracies of record executives, agents, and algorithms to reach trending status throughout the many factions of our nation. I tend to ignore all the big trending stories as I often find them a distraction more than having any real value. But I kept seeing message after message about the song from people I respected and trusted. I had to check it out. So, I relented to the algorithms and listened.
Oliver comes out of the gate singing. No intro. No band. Just a man. His guitar. And a message. His lyrics are direct and powerful. His voice reverberates with the pain of a nation. A nation of people who are overworked. Overtaxed. And underappreciated. A nation of police officers, soldiers, teachers, faith leaders, blue-collar workers, and parents.
Who is Oliver Anthony? He introduced himself in a Facebook post recently. He is a man struggling. A man who wants to help. Not a man looking for fortune.
“People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers. I don't want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet. I don't want to play stadium shows, I don't want to be in the spotlight. I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression. These songs have connected with millions of people on such a deep level because they're being sung by someone feeling the words in the very moment they were being sung. No editing, no agent, no bullshit. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.”
Oliver is no idiot. His post reveals a thoughtful man who values family and hard work—suffering setbacks and making mistakes but stepping forward instead of letting them hold him back. He’s vulnerable and honest.
Oliver sings about what he feels, which resonates with so many because we all feel it. A nation divided with no identity. Many factions turned against each other, and others left out. At the same time, our leaders continue to shape a nation of dependency. Telling us what we need instead of listening to our problems. Oliver understands our problems because he’s been listening: “Ive spent all day, everyday, for the last 10 years hearing the same story. People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated.”
The feeling for me started years ago. I picked up some books and didn’t put them down until I understood why. We live in an era of concentrated power that wealth can control. It’s a common fault of Republics. As populations grow and leadership positions remain fixed, the people become less represented. We’ve seen it in Rome, France, and the United States at different points. For a power structure to successfully lead, it must have adequate representation for the many factions of the populace. I’ve tried to explain this to my local representation and local journalists, but like Anthony, I often get blank stares. Or, more commonly, ignored.
The line in the song that stands out most to me is, “And they don't think you know, but I know that you do.” It hit me hard because many with power privately agree with the diagnosis of inadequate representation and campaign finance being the core of our problems. After all, it’s written in the pages of history from Plutarch to our founders and beyond. The fight over representation is as old as our nation itself. Echoes of “No taxation without representation” still ring through the ears of Americans when we feel overtaxed. Yet our leaders say nothing.
When I ask my local leaders why they won’t talk about it, they say people won’t understand. They say they must win, or it needs to be profitable. But they don’t even try to inform others. How do they know it won’t be successful? And isn’t their job to lead, not to only do what’s popular and profitable? Maybe they don’t understand the power they have. Maybe they don’t want people to know. Maybe they think the average American is too much of an idiot to understand. Oliver and I are both average Americans, and we are not idiots. The problem isn’t average Americans who want our labor valued, our voice heard, and our families represented. It’s those leading us and the game they play.
Oliver says there is nothing special about him, but I disagree. In a world that ignores or manipulates regular Americans, Oliver spoke out and got his voice heard. I hope he turns his fame into fortune and fulfills his mission to help others.