Rich Men North of Richmond
No one knew anything about Oliver Anthony a week ago, but he has sure made a splash on the internet. His song, Rich Men North of Richmond (lyrics below), was released just seven days ago on Youtube, and it currently has over 15 million views. If anyone was curious, the culture wars are not behind us. Take a look:
It’s a powerful song that hits you right in the feels. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin had a similar effect when slavery was still legal in this country. Upton Sinclair did the same for factory workers in the early 1900’s with The Jungle.
It got me thinking about a conversation I had years ago with a young man about a different song. This man is about twelve years younger than I am, so when he played What It’s Like (lyrics) by Everlast for me, I was already familiar with it. He was three when it came out - I had listened to it on the radio during my junior year of high school when it was popular. It is a catchy blues/rap crossover championing the cause of the down-and-out. It mentions the homeless and an abandoned young woman who gets an abortion.
Everlast (Erik Schrody) is a white dude who attended Taft High School in Los Angeles at the same time that Ice Cube and at least one member of the rap group N.W.A attended. Oliver Anthony’s Wikipedia page, which has only existed for three days, reports that Oliver Anthony is from Farmville, Virginia, population 7,473.
These two songs are a mirror image of one another. They could easily be seen as anthems of the right and the left - Everlast for the left, and Anthony for the right. They both hit on major culture war talking points.
Re-listening to What It’s Like ten years ago made me feel very uncomfortable, but I didn’t know quite what to say at the time to the young man. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but I wish I had said something like, “That’s a cool song. I liked it too. But be very careful about taking the moral high ground and giving in to self-pity. We have an amazing ability to rationalize our own sin. We can very easily feel like our pain is more than enough justification for just about any sin. But God calls us to faith and righteousness and love, regardless of our particular circumstances.”
Is there a difference between the two songs? Is one of them true and one of them a lie?
There are many problems with the Everlast song, not least of which is the man’s entirely self-serving justification of abortion. After all, he boasts about how he “stroked the fattest dimes/ At least a couple of times/ Before I broke their heart” just a few lines later. But I’d like to focus on the common problem between them: bitterness, envy and self-pity. Christian men must flee from such things.
Anthony performed a free concert in front of a large crowd this past Sunday, and he took the opportunity to read the following passage from Psalm 37:
The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slay those who are upright in conduct.
Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.
Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the LORD sustains the righteous.
The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance.
But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures,
They vanish–like smoke they vanish away.
That’s verses 12-20. Here are verses 1-6:
Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not envious toward wrongdoers.
For they will wither quickly like the grass
And fade like the green herb.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
And here are verses 23-26:
The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.
When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.
I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.
All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his descendants are a blessing.
I moved to Bloomington in 2002 after deciding to drop out of college for a time. My life was upside down, and I clung to a line from this Psalm as a young man: “I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.” Looking back, I can see that it could have been a perfect opportunity for me to give in to bitterness. But God had used my awful sin to teach me that I had nothing to be bitter about.
The central risk for both songs is the singer’s view of himself. If Anthony learns that he is his own worst enemy, and not the rich men north of Richmond, then he will be a wise man. But if he’s content to stroke my ego and ride his popularity to the top, he may write the anthem for a civil war, but not for a return to faith and righteousness.
When we give in to self-pity and bitterness, we demonstrate to the world that we have a very high view of ourselves. We don’t need to do that. The Psalmist shows how to speak the truth without bitterness. He declares that the Lord laughs at the wicked, but then he commands us to “Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.”
Let’s be that kind of man.
What It’s Like
We’ve all seen a man at the liquor store beggin’ for your change
The hair on his face is dirty, dreadlocked and full of mange
He asks a man for what he could spare with shame in his eyes
“Get a job, you fuckin’ slob” is all he replies
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom who said he was in love
He said, “Don’t worry about a thing, baby doll, I’m the man you’ve been dreamin’ of”
But three months later he say he won’t date her or return her calls
And she swear, “God damn if I find that man I’m cuttin’ off his balls”
And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walkin’ through the door
They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to have to choose
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
I’ve seen a rich man beg
I’ve seen a good man sin
I’ve seen a tough man cry
I’ve seen a loser win
And a sad man grin
I heard an honest man lie
I’ve seen the good side of bad
And the down side of up
And everything between
I licked the silver spoon
Drank from the golden cup
Smoked the finest green
I stroked the fattest dimes
At least a couple of times
Before I broke their heart
You know where it ends
Yo, it usually depends
On where you start
I knew this kid named Max
He used to get fat stacks
Out on the corner with drugs
He liked to hang out late
He liked to get shit faced
And keep the pace with thugs
Until late one night
There was a big gun fight
Max lost his head
He pulled out his Chrome .45
Talked some shit
And wound up dead
And now his wife and his kids
Are caught in the midst
Of all of this pain
You know it comes that way
At least that’s what they say
When you play the game
God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to have to lose
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
To have to lose…
Rich Men North of Richmond
I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
Overtime hours for bullshit pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away
It’s a damn 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 shit 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
Well, 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 damn country does is keep on kickin’ them down
Lord, it’s a damn 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 shit 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 bullshit pay