Country music sensation Oliver Anthony has released a new song titled “I Want To Go Home” that closes with a verse from the Bible, while continuing to be a huge hit despite not having a record deal.
The singer recently made history as the first debut artist to go straight to No. 1 on the Billboard charts with his country song Rich Men North of Richmond.
His success was fueled overnight by the blue-collar ballad in which he speaks out against working “overtime for terrible wages” and shakes up politicians for only caring about “minors on an island somewhere’.
He released another song on Tuesday and it has already accumulated 1.4 million listens on Spotify.
Anthony, who releases his music without the help of a record label, is making an estimated $40,000 a day after turning down offers worth a whopping $8 million.
Country music sensation Oliver Anthony has dropped a new song titled “I Want To Go Home” that closes with a verse from the Bible
The singer recently made history as the first debut artist to go straight to No. 1 on the Billboard charts with his country song Rich Men North of Richmond
The artist’s latest track deals with religion, war, the sale of family farms and the loss of green space – all topics that have been in the news and at the center of political debates in recent months.
“Every day in this new world is one day too many for me,” sings Anthony.
“Son, we are on the verge of the next world war and I don’t think anyone is praying anymore.
“And I’m not saying I’m sure, I’m just on my knees begging the Lord to take me home. I want to go home.’
He adds: ‘Seven generations till the land, grandson sells it to a man from out of town.
“Two weeks later the trees are going down and nothing but concrete grows.”
The singer closes the video clip of his latest song with the verse Mark 8:36 from the Bible.
It says, “For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
He has previously struggled with depression and alcohol abuse, but said he recently discovered religion.
“Like those who once wandered the desert, we have lost the way of God and have been led astray and divided by false idols,” he wrote on Facebook last week.
The artist’s latest song is about religion, war, the sale of family farms and the loss of green space
The singer closes the video clip of his latest song with the verse Mark 8:36 from the Bible
The factory worker from Farmville, Virginia, beat the Beatles and Elvis after his self-penned song attacking politicians attracted 17.5 million streams and 147,000 downloads upon release.
His success has caught the attention of industry figures including country producer John Rich and rapper Gucci Mane, but Anthony has claimed he has turned down record deals worth up to $8 million.
“People in the music industry give me blank looks when I turn down $8 million offers,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
“I don’t want six tour buses, 15 tractors and a jet. I don’t want to play stadium shows, I don’t want to be in the spotlight.
“I wrote the music I wrote because I suffered from mental health and depression.
“No editors, no agent, no nonsense. Just an idiot and his guitar.’
Anthony’s country song has anticipated offers from Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift
Oliver Anthony had plenty to laugh at his free concert in North Carolina over the weekend
He could be a rich man south of Richmond if merchandising sales take off
But according to trade magazine Hits, the singer earns an estimated $ 40,000 every day from the sales and streams of his music.
His Rich Men North of Richmond song denounces high taxes, low wages, child trafficking and the ‘obese milkin’ affluence’.
“Well, God, if you’re five-foot-two and weigh 300 pounds, you shouldn’t have to pay taxes on your bags of fudge,” he sings.
“Young men stick themselves six feet into the ground because all this goddamn country does is keep kicking them.”
The song has been championed by conservative influencers, including TV host Laura Ingraham, who paid tribute to its “haunting sound and commentary on what happened to the American working class”, and has taken the charts to the center of the culture wars.