Singer and songwriter Oliver Anthony, who quickly rose to fame after his song “Rich Men North Of Richmond” went viral earlier this month, said the federal government wasn’t going to “save us.”
In an interview with The Free Press, Anthony said he hoped his music would inspire listeners to be more community oriented and self-reliant.
“Nobody in Washington, DC, no one in the federal government’s coming to save us,” he told the outlet in a video shared to X, formerly Twitter. “The people that are going to save us are each other.”
“I’ve seen this in my own household at times,” he continued. “Where you’ll have a whole family under the same roof and instead of them spending time with each other and caring about each other, every one of them is sitting there just looking at their own piece of technology.”
The Free Press’s @rupasubramanya with the man of the moment, @AintGottaDollar. Story coming soon. pic.twitter.com/AUO37ZeRC4
— The Free Press (@TheFP) August 24, 2023
The singer and songwriter said people are “self-absorbed” by technology and not focusing on interacting with each other in person.
“That’s the real problem,” he said, adding that people are “disconnected” from each other due to the internet, which he previously called “a parasite that infects the minds of humans.”
Last week, Anthony responded to his overnight fame and viral song saying, “There’s nothing special about me.”
“The stories that have been shared paint a brutally honest picture,” Anthony wrote, saying it was difficult browsing through over 50,000 messages and emails in response to his song. “Suicide, addiction, unemployment, anxiety and depression, hopelessness and the list goes on.”
“I never wanted to be a full time musician, much less sit at the top of the iTunes charts,” he continued, adding he was in a “weird place” in his life following the song’s success. “Draven from RadioW and I filmed these tunes on my land with the hope that it may hit 300k views. I still don’t quite believe what has went on since we uploaded that. It’s just strange to me.”
@AintGottaDollar has apparently turned down at least one $8 million offer since "Rich Men North Of Richmond" went viral last week.
"I never wanted to be a full time musician, much less sit at the top of the iTunes charts … I still don't quite believe what has went on since we… pic.twitter.com/K7WVibfQlr
— Chris Bertman (@manofbert) August 18, 2023
The singer and songwriter also revealed he had turned down at least one $8 million offer from the music industry after his song garnered over 40 million views across YouTube and X.
“I don’t want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet. I don’t want to play stadium shows, I don’t want to be in the spotlight.”
Anthony said he has spent “many sleepless nights feeling hopeless” about America’s trajectory and legacy suggesting the United States was “quickly fading away.”
He continued:
That being said, I HATE the way the Internet has divided all of us. The Internet is a parasite, that infects the minds of humans and has their way with them. Hours wasted, goals forgotten, loved ones sitting in houses with each other distracted all day by technology made by the hands of other poor souls in sweat shops in a foreign land. When is enough, enough? When are we going to fight for what is right again? MILLIONS have died protecting the liberties we have. Freedom of speech is such a precious gift. Never in world history has the world had the freedom it currently does.
“Don’t let them take it away from you,” he concluded. “Just like those once wandering in the desert, we have lost our way from God and have let false idols distract us and divide us.”
