Rich Men North of Richmond

[DoggyDaddy]

Get your money for nothing and your chicks for free. Get a job loser, and you can meet a respectable girl.

I dunno... I think I'd still want the money for nothing.

 

[littletommy]

Has anyone mentioned pineapple pizza yet?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Has anyone mentioned pineapple pizza yet?

I'm against it. Well, I'm at least ambivalent about it.

 

[Twangbanger]

I can remember where I was the first time I heard "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. At the first few bars, I wasn't a fan, and really, I'm still not. But - that song got me, because it had an element of, "Hey, let's pick ourselves up, own our destiny, and get the heck outta this popsicle stand of a town and make something of ourselves." There's something quintessentially American about that, and I think that's why it was a hit, in addition to the obvious talent of the performer.

The "Richmond" song has none of that. It had me at first because, well frankly, I just liked the Gretsch resonator. But then I got into it. Purely IMO, the song is self-pitying victimhood sh.t. I refrained from replying to the other thread, because those people like his music and I'm cool with that. But I was like, "Dude, you live out in the country, on your own terms, living life your way, exactly the way you choose...and you're not happy? That's not the fault of Rich Men from D.C., dude. That's on you."

Now I realize the song is probably not intended to be 100% autobiographical, so we should view it in that light. But there is none of Tracy Chapman's self-ownership ethic in that song. It's blaming one's problems on politicians.

I looked at some of Oliver's other songs, and I think it's unfortunate that right-wing attention blew this one up first, because it's not his best work. Some of his other songs are frankly better, and based on that, I think he has promise and wish him well. He seems to have realized at some point what his problems were, and is working on owning that. Good for him. And I hope the John Rich thing helps him (and doesn't torpedo him).

If anyone wants to flame away, I'll not interfere, but remember - I didn't say a word in _your_ thread. I let it go. This is art we're talking about, and not everybody likes all art. So again, I still have nothing to add to the fanboi thread. You had your chance to state your opinion there, without any flak from me.

Breaking Contact, kudos to you. You're the "Joker" character in Full Metal Jacket, telling Sgt. Hartman, "No, I don't believe in the Virgin Mary." Your opinion may not be popular. But I'll wager you've got more guts than anyone detracting from you.

 

[Ingomike]

Dup

Rich Men North of Richmond

www.indianagunowners.com

 

[Cameramonkey]

Merged

 

[91FXRS]

Merged

That was confusing for a minute..

 

[ditcherman]

I’ll play.
First though, I want to say, I get where you’re coming from and don’t disagree with everything you have to say. So I’ll just break in where I do disagree…

My thoughts in bold below. I know my view won't be popular here and I'm fine with that. Someone needs to say it.​

This song is sentimentalism and victimhood masquerading as some "working man's anthem".

Enjoy.

​

Oliver Anthony Lyrics​

"Rich Men North Of Richmond"

I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day (get a different job)

C’mon, you know most people feel trapped, or at least down the road too far. That’s way easier said than done.

Overtime hours for bullsh*t pay (get a different job)

I would like to know what he thinks bad pay is…

So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away (don't drink your troubles away, super bad for you, live a disciplined life, not one of indulgence)
It's a d*mn shame what the world's gotten to (what the world has gotten to or what we have made of the world?)
For people like me and people like you
Wish I could just wake up and it not be true (that's a childish escapist fantasy)
But it is, oh, it is

Livin' in the new world
With an old soul (people talk about being "an old soul" a lot, it is nonsense)
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control (then stop living in ways that give them more control, exercise self control, raise your family well, stay married)

Not sure where the stay married is coming from?
You know we’re on a list, right? And we would rather not be, but we’re 2A advocates, so we’re on it. But should we be? The surveillance state is nothing we can control and it’s not right.
Furthermore, the nanny state that demands all this is out of our control as well.

Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do (stop downloading the latest spyware apps)

If you’re the average Joe going about your day you’re just going to let the phone do its thing. You don’t have to “download the latest spyware apps” to be surveilled.

And they don't think you know, but I know that you do
'Cause your dollar ain't sh*t and it's taxed to no end (I don't have much on this one BUT...don't just blame the left for destroying the dollar and our taxation levels)

This is the big one right here that I want to argue with you, and the thing that crosses all the lines that can bring the average joes together, left and right, you see he’s not blaming the left. He’s blaming the rich men north of Richmond. He has said (speaking, not a lyric in here) that it’s all their fault. He’s against cronyism, not the left, which IMO is one reason for the appeal.

'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 (so then feed them, the ones you see, where you live)
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 (this is a big issue, but...the solution to it isn't embracing victimhood)
'Cause all this d*mn country does is keep on kickin' them down (eh...could move to another country I suppose? Nigeria is probably hiring)

Once again, easier said than done. And why should we?

Lord, it's a d*mn 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*t 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*t pay

I really do hope he can write something with a hopeful message, solutions, not just complaining. I think that’s key for him becoming a long term difference maker.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

The "Richmond" song has none of that. It had me at first because, well frankly, I just liked the Gretsch resonator. But then I got into it. Purely IMO, the song is self-pitying victimhood sh.t. I refrained from replying to the other thread, because those people like his music and I'm cool with that. But I was like, "Dude, you live out in the country, on your own terms, living life your way, exactly the way you choose...and you're not happy? That's not the fault of Rich Men from D.C., dude. That's on you."

I've gotten to the point in my life where I'm pretty much uninterested in politics. I mean, I'm interested in the human nature, group dynamics and psychology of it, but not so much in the actual goings on part of it. The evening news is on at my house only because my wife likes to watch it (I think she has a crush on David Muir).

I first knew about the "Richmond" song because I saw the original thread here on INGO. I've listened to it exactly one time, and I liked it right off as well. I really only posted to this thread because I read the first post and the idea of the OP picking apart song lyrics and adding his own commentary seemed funny to me. Then (because I needed a reason not to finish a work piece I was bored with), I did my own version of song lyric commentary.

I get what your saying about appeal of the Chapman song. Same as Rod Stewart's "Young Turks", or Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer". Those songs tell a story that appeals to us, maybe a story that we'd like to see or to have seen ourselves living.

I remember Tom Petty being dragged because someone thought one of his songs promoted smoking pot. He explained that his songs told stories, stories about people, and if one of those people smoked pot, it's just a story (or something like that). I don't think that the "Richmond" song is at all autobiographical. I think it's like Tom Petty said, it's a song about people, and those people feel a certain way about the way things have gotten to in this country. To tell those people that they should quit crying, get off their butts, and take ownership of their problems is a cop out. And besides, it seems to me that writing a song, recording it yourself, and putting online isn't doing nothing. I've got way more years behind me than I do in front of me, and I consider myself very fortunate. I've had a good life, and most what I'd call my problems are my own doing. But I very often think about how this world isn't the one that I remember, and when I heard that song, I felt it in a deep place.

 

[ditcherman]

I guess there ain’t no accountin’ for taste. Depending which thread you think your in.
3 out of 10 ain’t to bad for someone that’s been around for a week.

 

[TheGrumpyGuy]

View attachment 293384
I guess there ain’t no accountin’ for taste. Depending which thread you think your in.
3 out of 10 ain’t to bad for someone that’s been around for a week.

Where the hell'd you learn how to count? Public school?

 

[Ingomike]

View attachment 293384
I guess there ain’t no accountin’ for taste. Depending which thread you think your in.
3 out of 10 ain’t to bad for someone that’s been around for a week.

This ain’t Meatloaf, Two out of three ain’t bad. I count four out of ten.

 

[blain]

I really do hope he can write something with a hopeful message, solutions, not just complaining.

Vince Gill beat him to it.

 

[ditcherman]

Where the hell'd you learn how to count? Public school?

This ain’t Meatloaf, Two out of three ain’t bad. I count four out of ten.

Congratulations you guys passed the test.
Roasted and corrected. It’s more about the reading than the counting. But either way, yea public school.
Somewhere else said he had 5, which might be his whole discography, not sure.

 

[Twangbanger]

I've gotten to the point in my life where I'm pretty much uninterested in politics. I mean, I'm interested in the human nature, group dynamics and psychology of it, but not so much in the actual goings on part of it. The evening news is on at my house only because my wife likes to watch it (I think she has a crush on David Muir).

I first knew about the "Richmond" song because I saw the original thread here on INGO. I've listened to it exactly one time, and I liked it right off as well. I really only posted to this thread because I read the first post and the idea of the OP picking apart song lyrics and adding his own commentary seemed funny to me. Then (because I needed a reason not to finish a work piece I was bored with), I did my own version of song lyric commentary.

I get what your saying about appeal of the Chapman song. Same as Rod Stewart's "Young Turks", or Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer". Those songs tell a story that appeals to us, maybe a story that we'd like to see or to have seen ourselves living.

I remember Tom Petty being dragged because someone thought one of his songs promoted smoking pot. He explained that his songs told stories, stories about people, and if one of those people smoked pot, it's just a story (or something like that). I don't think that the "Richmond" song is at all autobiographical. I think it's like Tom Petty said, it's a song about people, and those people feel a certain way about the way things have gotten to in this country. To tell those people that they should quit crying, get off their butts, and take ownership of their problems is a cop out. And besides, it seems to me that writing a song, recording it yourself, and putting online isn't doing nothing. I've got way more years behind me than I do in front of me, and I consider myself very fortunate. I've had a good life, and most what I'd call my problems are my own doing. But I very often think about how this world isn't the one that I remember, and when I heard that song, I felt it in a deep place.

The "world of America" isn't the one I remember either. When I see crackheads like Hunter Biden having investments and influence in Ukraine, he seems like the kind of kid who didn't know where Ukraine was on a map when he was in high school. And it hits me - the Cold War was a giant lie. We didn't fight the Cold War to _end_ the exploitation of people like the Ukrainians. We fought it so Western a**holes like FHB can go in there and _participate_ in that exploitation. Ukrainians are still dirt poor, but now they have Western a**holes like FHB coming in there calling shots and getting wealthy off the place. We spent countless hundreds of Billions of dollars of taxpayer money on the Cold War over half a century. It was the organizing principle of our foreign policy for 50 years. And it was all a giant, f*cking lie.

But I've come to the conclusion that most of the things I don't like about "modern America" were already there before I was born. It didn't start happening just because I noticed it. Except for some of the richer modern nuggets like dudes playing girls' sports, most of the stuff I object to was already long-standing feature of the country, and the "country" I thought was there, never really was.

I also realize if FHB was a more sympathetic figure, with some musical ability, he could probably write a song about losing his brother and mother, and it would resonate with someone. "Hunter has been through a lot and his message resonates," his defenders would say.

Anyway, I'm a terrible judge of what is popular. I can remember being at a guitar factory in about the 2005~2007 timeframe, and they were making a big fuss about some young country chick artist-endorser nobody had ever heard of, who was going to be the "next big star." I was like, "Yeah, right, just like all the rest of them." That chick turned out to be Taylor Swift. So based on that, Oliver Anthony should have a quick and meteoric rise to the top!

 

[Creedmoor]

Where the hell'd you learn how to count? Public school?

And people in Indiana, ask me why I educated my kids in Maryland. lol

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

The "world of America" isn't the one I remember either. When I see crackheads like Hunter Biden having investments and influence in Ukraine, he seems like the kind of kid who didn't know where Ukraine was on a map when he was in high school. And it hits me - the Cold War was a giant lie. We didn't fight the Cold War to _end_ the exploitation of people like the Ukrainians. We fought it so Western a**holes like FHB can go in there and _participate_ in that exploitation. Ukrainians are still dirt poor, but now they have Western a**holes like FHB coming in there calling shots and getting wealthy off the place. We spent countless hundreds of Billions of dollars of taxpayer money on the Cold War over half a century. It was the organizing principle of our foreign policy for 50 years. And it was all a giant, f*cking lie.

But I've come to the conclusion that most of the things I don't like about "modern America" were already there before I was born. It didn't start happening just because I noticed it. Except for some of the richer modern nuggets like dudes playing girls' sports, most of the stuff I object to was already long-standing feature of the country, and the "country" I thought was there, never really was.

I also realize if FHB was a more sympathetic figure, with some musical ability, he could probably write a song about losing his brother and mother, and it would resonate with someone. "Hunter has been through a lot and his message resonates," his defenders would say.

Anyway, I'm a terrible judge of what is popular. I can remember being at a guitar factory in about the 2005~2007 timeframe, and they were making a big fuss about some young country chick artist-endorser nobody had ever heard of, who was going to be the "next big star." I was like, "Yeah, right, just like all the rest of them." That chick turned out to be Taylor Swift. So based on that, Oliver Anthony should have a quick and meteoric rise to the top!

That realization of a big lie must be some kind of right-of-passage. It was for me. Speaking of music and songs, how about John Mayer's song, where he says "I just found out there's no such thing as the real world...Just a lie you've got to rise above". I still love that song.

There's a man I've seen on a few Youtube interviews and, I think, a TEDTalk. I can't remember his name, but he wrote a book; something about "Our Righteous Minds", and he had said that one of the strongest impulses humans have is to belong with a group, to be ready to do battle with other groups (literally or figuratively), and to be blind to the truth if necessary in that endeavor.

I tend to believe that guy, and I think that most of us don't realize that having the fight, and being in the fight is probably more important to us than what we're actually fighting about. I think that primitive, genetic, hard-wired impulse, that at one time had an extremely important survivability function, might now be a roadblock that hurts us more than helps us.

It would be nice if music could be the thing that brings us together instead of being just another thing that we fight about.

 

[breakingcontact]

I liked John Lovell's take (towards the end of this video). John likes the song (more than me) but he accurately described it as a "dirge". Basically it is just a lament of the situation in which people find themselves in (or have made for themselves).

To Oliver Anthony's credit, here he is reading from the Bible about a future victory, so for that, I am thankful.

John Lovell's Take (Warrior Poet Society)

 

[Twangbanger]

That realization of a big lie must be some kind of right-of-passage. It was for me. Speaking of music and songs, how about John Mayer's song, where he says "I just found out there's no such thing as the real world...Just a lie you've got to rise above". I still love that song.

There's a man I've seen on a few Youtube interviews and, I think, a TEDTalk. I can't remember his name, but he wrote a book; something about "Our Righteous Minds", and he had said that one of the strongest impulses humans have is to belong with a group, to be ready to do battle with other groups (literally or figuratively), and to be blind to the truth if necessary in that endeavor.

I tend to believe that guy, and I think that most of us don't realize that having the fight, and being in the fight is probably more important to us than what we're actually fighting about. I think that primitive, genetic, hard-wired impulse, that at one time had an extremely important survivability function, might now be a roadblock that hurts us more than helps us.

It would be nice if music could be the thing that brings us together instead of being just another thing that we fight about.

I really think it's why "dingbat pop music" has taken over the long-running positions at the top of the streaming charts. So many people are so totally tired of the warriors and their bullsh.t, and only want to listen to lowest-common denominator music that makes them feel good. Rock 'n Roll is dead as an art form. There's not many Dylans anymore who can do angst while "controlling negative emotions."

Imagine how the course of history could have been altered, if Barack Obama grew up listening to Stevie Wonder in an actual black family in Oakland

 

[ChristianPatriot]

I really think it's why "dingbat pop music" has taken over the long-running positions at the top of the streaming charts. So many people are so totally tired of the warriors and their bullsh.t, and only want to listen to lowest-common denominator music that makes them feel good. Rock 'n Roll is dead as an art form. There's not many Dylans anymore who can do angst while "controlling negative emotions."

Imagine how the course of history could have been altered, if Barack Obama grew up listening to Stevie Wonder in an actual black family in Oakland

Fun is nice.

Meaningful is way better.