A songwriter in Virginia released a song this week that quickly went viral for its criticisms of modern American government.

Oliver Anthony, who lives in Farmville, Virginia, dropped "Rich Men North of Richmond" on YouTube to the reception of over 1.5 million views and over 125,000 likes. His previous release on his record label received roughly a tenth of the engagement. The lyrics imply that the titular characters of the song are the politicians in Washington, D.C., which is over 100 miles north of Richmond, Virginia.

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"These rich men north of Richmond / Lord knows they all just want to 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," the lyrics read. "Cause your dollar ain't s***, and it's taxed to no end / 'Cause of rich men north of Richmond."

Anthony's personal politics are not made clear in the song. His recording, inspired by Hank Williams, according to his record label, was made in an outdoor setting surrounded by his three dogs. He performed the song while strumming on a guitar with an aluminum resonator cone. Anthony is from Farmville, Virginia, which is part of the state's 5th Congressional District represented by Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) since 2020.

"Oliver wants to give hope to the working class and your average hard working young man who may have lost hope in the grind of trying to get by," record label Radio WV wrote of the songwriter.

"I wish politicians would look out for miners / And not just minors on an island somewhere / Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothing to eat / And the obese milking welfare / Well God, if you're 5 foot 3 and you're 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds," the song goes. "Young men are putting themselves 6 feet in the ground / 'Cause all this damn country does is keep on kicking them down."

"Rich Men North of Richmond has been uploaded to all major streaming platforms and will show up there in a few days," Anthony wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I'm still in a state of shock at the outpouring of love I've seen in the comments, messages and emails. I'm working to respond to everyone as quickly as possible."

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The singer did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.

Anthony's Instagram account has risen in followers since the release of his song, increasing by almost 50,000 between Thursday and Friday. He previously had less than 10,000.