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Over the last few days, Prince Edward County resident Oliver Anthony went viral with his new song ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’. People shared the tune across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with a number of celebrities endorsing the video.

The song focuses on the working class, highlighting problems caused by the title’s greedy ‘Rich Men’. Selfish politicians, high taxes and welfare abuse are just a few of the issues to get a reference. But we’ve already had a couple people call the office, requesting a copy of the lyrics, as they couldn’t clearly understand them. So that’s what we’re doing here. No commentary, no discussion. Just the song lyrics laid out for you to interpret on your own.

‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ lyrics

I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
Overtime hours for bullsh** pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away

It’s a da** shame what the world’s 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

Livin’ in the new world
With an old soul
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
‘Cause your dollar ain’t sh** and it’s taxed to no end
‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond

I wish politicians would look out for miners
And not just minors on an island somewhere
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat
And the obese milkin’ welfare

God, if you’re 5 foot 3 and you’re 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds
Young men are puttin’ themselves six feet in the ground
‘Cause all this da** country does is keep on kickin’ them down

Lord, it’s a da** shame what the world’s 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

Livin’ in the new world
With an old soul
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
‘Cause your dollar ain’t sh** and it’s taxed to no end
‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond

I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
Overtime hours for bullsh** pay

For those learning about Oliver Anthony and wanting to know more about the town of Farmville, just click here.