Singer Oliver Anthony posted a defiant and at times emotional video on Friday, rejecting Republicans and conservative media who’ve tried to “act like we’re buddies” and criticizing the left for mischaracterizing his message.
In the 10-and-a-half-minute video filmed in his truck, Anthony at various points choked up about the state of the country, laughed at his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” being part of Wednesday’s Republican primary debate (“I wrote that song about those people!”) and said he intended to keep producing authentic music that moved others. A lament for the working class he characterizes as kicked around for too long, Anthony sings in “Rich Men” about working “overtime hours for bulls–t pay,” high taxation, substance abuse, the suicide epidemic and other societal ills.
Anthony, a Virginia farmer whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford, has shot to fame in the past month after his acoustic version of “Rich Men North of Richmond” went viral on YouTube and soared up various music charts. Many Republicans and right-leaning media figures in particular have praised the song’s raw authenticity.
Anthony said he feels “surprisingly calm and at peace” after his…
