The searing lyrics of the chart-topping “Rich Men North of Richmond” propelled the tune to the GOP presidential debate stage, however the singer and songwriter behind the quantity says “it’s aggravating” to see his track turn out to be a political instrument.
Oliver Anthony, the Virginia-based musician who penned “Rich Men North of Richmond,” has pushed again in opposition to the political weaponization of his track, significantly when the track was used because the opening query for the Fox News-hosted Republican debate.
“It was funny seeing my song… at the presidential debate,” Mr. Anthony mentioned in a YouTube video. “Because it’s like, I wrote that song about those people, you know, so for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis answered why “Rich Men North of Richmond” was putting a nerve within the U.S., putting blame on President Biden for inflicting a decline within the nation.
But the track has nothing to do with the president, Mr. Anthony mentioned.
“That song’s written about the people on that stage and a lot more, too,” Mr. Anthony mentioned. “Not just them, but definitely them.”
Fox News anchor and co-host of the talk, Martha MacCallum, responded to Mr. Anthony’s criticism and defended kicking off the talk with the track.
“The reason we asked 8 GOP candidates, after playing ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ and pointing out that DC is just 100 miles N of Richmond was to say, ‘are you on the stage part of the problem that he sings about? or part of the solution?,’” Ms. MacCullum mentioned on X, the platform previously often known as Twitter. “Asking about the criticism of welfare programs is not blaming the poor. It’s asking if the government is helping or hurting? He sings of people who are deeply frustrated and don’t want anyone trying to control them. It would be a good way to start a Dem or GOP debate, to spark an important conversation.”
Mr. Anthony laments rising taxes, the worth of the greenback, welfare abuse and, after all, the wealthy males north of Richmond — a jab at politicians and the rich elite occupying Washington, D.C., about 100 miles north of Richmond.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” induced a meteoric rise for Mr. Anthony, garnering the artist hundreds of thousands of streams and a No. 1 place on the Billboard Chart.
The track has additionally been championed by conservatives and obtained ire from liberals, however Mr. Anthony has described himself as being “dead center” politically.
“It’s hard to get a message out about your political ideology or your belief about the world in three minutes and some change. But I do hate to see that song being weaponized like I see the Right trying to characterize me as one of their own, and I see the Left trying to discredit me, I guess in retaliation,” Mr. Anthony mentioned. “That Sh—- gotta stop.”
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