“To be a Virginian, either by birth, adoption, or even on one’s Mother’s side, is an introduction to any state in the union, passport to any foreign country, and a benediction from the Almighty God.” Anonymous, date unknown

My wife and I have been blessed with three wonderful daughters, all of whom are married to fine men and have wonderful children of their own.

Years ago our oldest daughter graduated from Sweet Briar, a women’s college in southern Virginia. She is married to the boy who courted her while she was there and he was a student at Hampden-Sydney College, an all male school in nearby Farmville, Virginia.

Today among their three homes that spread from coastal Maine to Mississippi, they have a 500 acre farm close to Farmville.

All of this by way of explaining how over time I have gotten to know southern Virginia. It feels like home or at least the Georgia where I grew up in the 1950s and early 1960s. It’s populated by solid, kind, polite, proud, religious and patriotic people.

Recently, while surfing YouTube, I came across a video described as one Oliver Anthony of Farmville singing his song “Rich Men North of Richmond”.

Farmville? I had to check it out, and I’m sure glad that I did.

Oliver Anthony, a former factory worker, delivers a heartfelt and powerful performance. His song captures the voice of blue collar workers and the middle class who are being ground into dust by the “Rich Men North of Richmond” who run the federal government.

It’s not just a song. It’s a battle hymn and a real gut punch.

He posted the video to YouTube on August 7, and it’s gone viral. It’s already had over 5 million views and the song has surged to No. 1 on the iTunes Country chart. So far his YouTube channel has 174,000 subscribers. He has to date 158,000 followers on Facebook and more than 310,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter).

You can take a listen by clicking on the picture below. But don’t delay. I predict that it won’t be long before the Google gods demonetize and take down his video, the FBI swat raids him for being a domestic terrorist, and the woke mobsters in the media and music industry do their best to destroy him and send him down the memory hole.

And, as an added bonus, here he is on August 13 reprising his anthem at Morris Farm in Carrituck, North Carolina. Listen to his introductory remarks and the catch in his voice as he reads from Psalm 37. And pay particular attention to the reaction of the audience. That will tell you who he is, where he came from, the unrest that he has tapped into, and the reason for his new found fame.