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<http://nytimes.com>
AI Created Oliver Anthony Says 'Rich Men North of Richmond' Is Not a
Republican Anthem
Livia Albeck-Ripka

"I wrote this song about those people," Oliver Anthony said of his No. 1
hit, after presidential candidates answered a question about his Billboard
hit at their first debate.

Aug. 25, 2023

The singer Oliver Anthony, whose song "Rich Men North of Richmond" has
soared to the top of the Billboard singles chart, released a YouTube video
on Friday denouncing Republicans and conservative outlets for co-opting
his song.

"It was funny seeing that presidential debate," Anthony said. "I wrote
that song about those people."

A clip of Anthony performing was played by Fox News moderators at the
start of the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night in
Milwaukee, after a series of videos of Americans lamenting conditions
under President Biden, including inflation and homelessness.

The clip showed Anthony - with guitar in hand and two dogs at his feet - singing: "These rich men north of Richmond / Lord knows they all just
wanna have total control."

The song, which Anthony uploaded to YouTube earlier this month, had caught
fire with conservative figures like Matt Walsh and Laura Ingraham, who described it as an authentic expression of working-class American life.
Widely perceived as a conservative anthem, it also drew critiques from
some on the left, who called the lyrics racist.

At the debate, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida was the first to respond to a question asking why the song had struck a chord with so many Americans.

"Our country is in decline," Mr. DeSantis said. "This decline is not inevitable. It's a choice." He added, "Those rich men north of Richmond
have put us in this situation."

Anthony said Friday it "cracks me up" that the candidates had been forced
to listen to his song onstage, because he was singing about powerful
people like them.

The new video showed him behind the wheel of his truck, as heavy rain
pelted the windows. "That song has nothing to do with Joe Biden," he said.
"You know, it's a lot bigger than Joe Biden."

Anthony, who is from Farmville, Va., also said that he was fed up by what
he perceived to be the weaponization of his music by both the right and
left.

"It's aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with
me like I'm one of them," he said. "I see the right, trying to
characterize me as one of their own. And I see the left trying to
discredit me."

The left, he added, had misinterpreted his lyrics as being attacks on the
poor when, he said, he was trying to defend them. "I've got to be clear
that my message like with any of my songs, it references the
inefficiencies of the government."

Reason, a libertarian magazine, had lauded what it perceived as Anthony's anti-tax message. But liberal commentators were troubled by a lyric about
the "obese milkin' welfare." The folk singer Billy Bragg even wrote his
own version of the song and cautioned Anthony about punching down.

At first, Anthony appeared to welcome the attention from conservatives. He granted Fox News the right to use it in the debate, Politico reported. And
he gave an interview to the network, saying that he had been motivated to
write the song because of his own struggles, which he assumed were shared
by others.

"It resonates the suffering in our world right now, like even in our own country," he said then. "We've had years of people feeling depressed and hopeless and every time you look at the T.V. or get online everything's negative." He added that "corporate media and education" had helped to sow division.

Anthony returned to that theme in his video on Friday, saying that despite
how it may appear, his music had actually united people.

"It's driving people crazy to see the unity that's come from this from all walks," Anthony said. "This isn't a Republican and Democrat thing. This
isn't even a United States thing. Like, this has been a global response."

Anthony, who could not immediately be reached for an interview on Friday evening, described himself as a "nobody" who through some divine
intervention had been tasked with sending a message that things needed to change. Before his meteoric rise to fame, he was an unknown songwriter. Although he performs as Oliver Anthony, his full name is Christopher
Anthony Lunsford.

"I don't know what this country is going to look like in 10 or 20 years if things don't change," he said. "I don't know what this world is going to
look like. And like, something has to be done about it. You know?"



--
==================================================
Anyone that isn't confused doesn't really
understand the situation.
~Edward R. Murrow USA WWII Correspondent ==================================================

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