Country singer Oliver Anthony has spoken out after his song Rich Men North of Richmond was used during the Republican presidential debate.
US singer Anthony's - real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford - song went viral before going on to claim the number one spot in the Billboard Hot 100 - a feat that is all the more impressive due to the fact the singer had no prior history in the music charts.
On YouTube, Anthony explained that he wrote the song to "give hope to the working class and your average hardworking young man who may have lost hope in the grind of trying to get by".
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It’s been hailed as a ‘blue collar anthem’ by Fox News and recently used during the Republican Party presidential debate - a move that left Anthony unimpressed, with the singer pointing out: “That song is written about the people on that stage.”
In a clip uploaded to YouTube, Anthony said he found it ‘aggravating’ that ‘certain politicians’ had been using the song to try and get across the message that ‘we’re fighting the same struggle here’.
“The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up in this,” he said in the video.
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“I’m disappointed to see… like, it’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me, like I’m one of them.
“It’s aggravating to see certain musicians and politicians act like we’re buddies and act like we’re fighting the same struggle here. Like they were trying to present the same message.
“I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me and I’ve tried to be polite with everybody and I’ve talked to hundreds of people the last two weeks - but it seems like certain people just want to ride the attention of the song, and maybe make their own selves relevant and that is aggravating as Hell.
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“The other thing I found aggravating is… well, you know, like, it was funny seeing it at the presidential debate because it was, like, I wrote that song about those people so for them to have to sit there and listen to it that cracks me up.
“It was funny seeing the response to it. That song has nothing to do with Joe Biden. It’s a lot bigger than Joe Biden. That song is written about the people on that stage and a lot more, too, not just them - but definitely them.”
Claire Reid