Hit Song ‘Rich Men North Of Richmond’ Gives A Glimpse Into The Lives Of Americans Left Behind

In “Rich Men North Of Richmond,” folk-country singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony provides a haunting, bittersweet lamentation for an America that existed not too long ago but may never exist again. The new single is currently experiencing widespread acclaim online.

Anthony’s song depicts a deep yearning to return to a version of America in which people were not plagued by existential economic and cultural woes every moment of every day.

I’ve been selling my soul / Working all day / Overtime hours, for bullsh-t pay / So I can sit out here, and waste my life away / Drag back home, and drown my troubles away

After all, Americans across the board are enduring a deep, existential pain. This ceaseless, throbbing ache brought about by innumerable woes spread throughout the nation — rampant economic insecurity, government corruption, cultural freefall, and anarcho-tyranny, just to name a few — characterizes our shared experience more than anything else possibly could. 

Suicide rates and overdose deaths continue to increase; lawlessness, unaccountability, and corruption run amuck; economic conditions continue to rapidly worsen; and our culture is in an undeniable state of freefall while our life expectancies continue to decline.

It’s a damn shame / What the worlds gotten to / For people like me, and people like you / Wish I could just wake up, and it not be true / But it is, oh, it is

 The only people who are able to escape this agony are those who can