Rich Men North Of Richmond – English Lyrics

• By: Oliver Anthony

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the powerful message behind Oliver Anthony's viral hit, "Rich Men North Of Richmond." This song offers a glimpse into the everyday struggles of the working class, exploring themes of economic hardship and political frustration. Learn about the context that fueled this authentic anthem and why it struck a chord with millions.

[English]

I've been selling my soul working all day

Overtime hours for bullshit pay

So I can sit out here and waste my life away

Drag back home and drown my troubles away

It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to

For people like me, 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 shit and it's taxed to no end

'Cause of rich men north of Richmond

...

I wish politicians would look out for minors

And not just minors on an island somewhere

Lord, we got folks in the street ain't got nothin' to eat

And the obese milkin' welfare

But God, if you're five foot three and you're three hundred pounds

Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds

Young men are putting themselves six feet in the ground

'Cause all this damn country does is keep on kicking them down

Lord, it's a damn shame what the world's gotten to

For people like me, 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 shit and it's taxed to no end

'Cause of rich men north of Richmond

...

I've been selling my soul working all day

Overtime hours for bullshit pay

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
soul /soʊl/ B1	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
day /deɪ/ A1	noun - the period of light between sunrise and sunset.
hours /ˈaʊərz/ A1	noun - a period of 60 minutes.
pay /peɪ/ A2	noun - money paid to someone for work or services. verb - to give (someone) money for goods or services.
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
shame /ʃeɪm/ B2	noun - a feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour.
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries and peoples.
wake /weɪk/ B1	verb - to emerge from sleep; stop sleeping.
new /njuː/ A1	adjective - recently made, invented, or developed.
old /oʊld/ A1	adjective - having lived for a long time; no longer young.
rich /rɪtʃ/ A2	adjective - having a great deal of money or assets; wealthy.
control /kənˈtroʊl/ B1	noun - the power to influence or direct people's behaviour or the course of events. verb - to have power over; manage; direct.
dollar /ˈdɑːlər/ A1	noun - a monetary unit of the US, Canada, and other countries.
politicians /ˌpɑːləˈtɪʃənz/ B2	noun - a person actively involved in politics, especially someone holding or seeking an elected office.
minors /ˈmaɪnərz/ B2	noun - a person under the age of full legal responsibility.
street /striːt/ A1	noun - a public road in a city or town, typically with houses and buildings on one or both sides.
eat /iːt/ A1	verb - put (food) into the mouth and chew and swallow it.
taxes /ˈtæksɪz/ B1	noun - a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions.
young /jʌŋ/ A1	adjective - having lived or existed for only a short time.
ground /ɡraʊnd/ A2	noun - the solid surface of the earth.

Key Grammar Structures

• I've been selling my soul working all day

  ➔ Present Perfect Continuous (I've been selling)

  ➔ Used to describe an action that started in the past and continues to the present. It emphasizes the duration of the action. The use of “working” as a gerund/participle modifying selling clarifies how the soul is being sold: through work.

• Overtime hours for bullshit pay

  ➔ Noun phrase with adjective (bullshit pay)

  ➔ "Bullshit" functions as an adjective modifying the noun "pay", expressing a negative assessment of the salary. The phrase concisely conveys the idea of inadequate compensation. Adjectives can also function as an adverb of sorts, in this case, emphasizing the unfairness of the pay.

• Wish I could just wake up and it not be true

  ➔ Subjunctive Mood (Wish + past subjunctive)

  ➔ Expresses a desire for something that is contrary to fact or unlikely to happen. "Could" is used as the past subjunctive of "can". The phrase "it not be true" is another use of the subjunctive. It is used here to convey a hypothetical situation that is contrary to reality.

• Lord, knows they all just wanna have total control

  ➔ Ellipsis (Lord knows)

  ➔ "Lord, knows" is a shortened way of saying "Lord knows". Ellipsis is the omission of words that are understood from the context, making the sentence more conversational. "Wanna" is a colloquial contraction of "want to".

• Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do

  ➔ Indirect Questions (embedded questions)

  ➔ The clauses "what you think" and "what you do" function as noun clauses acting as the object of the verb "know." They are indirect questions because they are embedded within a larger statement and do not follow the typical word order of a direct question.

• And they don't think you know but I know that you do

  ➔ Contrastive Conjunction (but), Ellipsis

  ➔ The conjunction "but" introduces a contrast between what "they" think and what the speaker believes. The phrase "I know that you do" is an example of ellipsis where the verb phrase is omitted, instead of repeating "I know that you know".

• 'Cause your dollar ain't shit and it's taxed to no end

  ➔ Informal Contraction (ain't), passive voice (it's taxed)

  ➔ "Ain't" is a highly informal contraction often used in colloquial speech for "am not," "is not," "are not," "has not," or "have not." "It's taxed" is in the passive voice, indicating that the dollar is the recipient of the action of being taxed.

• Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds

  ➔ Modal verb "ought to" (negative form), prepositional phrase (for your bags of fudge rounds)

  ➔ "Ought to" expresses a sense of obligation or moral correctness. The placement of "not" between "ought" and "to" is an older, more formal way of negating "ought to". The prepositional phrase "for your bags of fudge rounds" clarifies what taxes shouldn't be used for, adding specificity to the statement.