Country singer Oliver Anthony, whose “Rich Men North of Richmond” has become a working folks’ anthem, had the crowd roaring at a Sunday concert, but it was not for his music.
Anthony began his Morris Farm Market show by reading from the Bible.
“Before we start singing, and I mean we, ’cause I hope y’all are gonna be singing, too. I just had something I felt compelled to share with you. This is in Psalms, Psalms 37:12-20,” he said.
JUST IN: Oliver Anthony shares a verse from the Bible in his first public appearance since going viral for his ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ song.
“Before we start singing, and I mean we, ’cause I hope y’all are gonna be singing too. I just had something I felt compelled to share… pic.twitter.com/zqJb7tDkvc
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 13, 2023
The verses, as read by Anthony, went, “The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them. But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.”
“But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. Better the little that have righteousness than the wealth of many wicked. For the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster, they will not wither, and in days of famine, they will have plenty. But the wicked will perish,” he said.
“Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, and they will go up in smoke,” he read.
Not only has “Rich Men North of Richmond” hit the top of the iTunes county chart, two other songs by Anthony, “Ain’t Got a Dollar” and “I’ve Got to Get Sober” joined it at the top, replacing Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town.” Three other songs by Anthony cracked the top 10: “I Want to Go Home,” “Virginia,” and “Rich Mans Gold.”
“It’s crazy to me because I remember back in June, I played here for about 20 people,” the singer told the gathered crowd.
Anthony spoke about the roots of his songs in a recent YouTube video.
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“Things were obviously not good for a lot of people, and in some respects, I was one of those people,” Anthony said, speaking to the pandemic-drenched days of 2021 when he began writing songs.
“I had wasted a lot of nights getting high and getting drunk, and I had sort of gotten to a point in my life where even things that I did care about didn’t mean anything to me anymore. This is certainly no ‘Dr. Phil’ episode, but I found an outlet in this music.”
He said his inspiration came from the people around him.
“The universal thing I see is, is that, it’s like no matter how much they push and how much effort they put into whatever it is they’re doing, they can’t quite get ahead because the dollar’s not worth enough, it’s being over-taxed. People are just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I want to be a voice for those people. And not just them, just humans in general,” he said.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” voices a broad dissatisfaction with what life has become.
“These rich men north of Richmond; Lord knows they all just wanna have total control; Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do; And they don’t think you know, but I know that you do,” the lyrics said, according to AZlyrics.
“Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat; And the obese milkin’ welfare; Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds; Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds.”
“I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day; Overtime hours for bulls*** pay,” the refrain added.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
