RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — It’s the song that’s captured the attention of many Americans. “Rich Men North of Richmond” sits atop Billboard’s Top 100.
The song was written and performed by Farmville-native Oliver Anthony and has created much buzz in the political world.
The song, which has received more than 38 million views on YouTube as of Aug. 24, was even the basis for the very first question at the Republican Presidential Debate last night.
“It’s a little controversial, but it also speaks to something that I think is really in the forefront of many people’s minds, regardless of what their viewpoint is,” said Valerie L’Herrou of the Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC).
L’Herrou extended an invitation for Anthony to come to Richmond to discuss poverty and what VPLC is doing to help alleviate poverty in Virginia.
In the song, Anthony talks about “Workin’ all day for low pay, and being taxed to no end.”
L’Herrou says the song is resonating with the countless, middle-aged Americans struggling to make ends meet.
“They’re at an age when, you know, they might have expected … that [they] would be [at] an age where they could start a family, buy a house and all those things,” L’Herrou said. “But because of that sort of artificially low entry-level wage, a lot of people can’t access the thing they thought they would be able to.”
Although popular, the song is not without controversy. In one line, Anthony decries “the obese milkin’ welfare.”
“That’s really not true,” L’Herrou said. “Most of those people are children. Most of the people on welfare are Caucasian people. The vast majority of them are either working or in a job retraining program because TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) requires you [are].”
