Rich Men Owning North of a Billion - Ben Grosscup

A response to “Rich Men North Of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony with thanks to Billy Bragg who wrote "Rich Men Earning North of a Million"
By Ben Grosscup
LYRICS:
If you’re selling your soul, working all day
Overtime hours for bullshit pay
Nothing’s gonna change if all you do
Is wish you could wake up and it not be true
Join a union, fight for better pay
Join a union, organize today
If you want your freedom
It’s time we stand our ground
Rich men owning north of a billion
Wanna keep us working folks down
Wanna keep us working folks down
If you form a union, you’ll soon find
Common troubles on working folks’s minds
The dollar won’t stretch. There’s a family to feed
The health insurance doesn’t cover what you need
… if you even have it
So when your neighbor’s in pain, and he’s putting on pounds
And he takes a pill just so he move around
Something’s wrong when we let him drown
In the shame of being kicked so damn far down
Join a union, fight for free healthcare
Join a union, tell the rich to pay their share
We face a common enemy
Black or white or brown:
Rich men owning north of a billion
Wanna keep us working folks down
Wanna keep us working folks down
The culture war stirs righteous hearts
While our future falls apart
They’re building nuclear bombs as the oceans rise,
And the forest fire smoke burns our eyes
Well, the class war’s here, and it’s nothing new
It’s the rich against poor, not the red against blue
If you don’t want the rich to have total control,
We gotta make the union roll
Join a union, for peace and dignity
Join a union, for all humanity
Whether you live in a city
Or a little country town
Rich men owning north of a billion
Rich men owning north of a billion
Rich men owning north of a billion
Wanna keep us working folks down
Wanna keep us working folks down
If you’re selling your soul, working all day
Overtime hours for bullshit pay
Join a union
---------------------------------
BEN GROSSCUP's E-MAIL NEWSLETTER SIGN UP: bit.ly/Ben_Grosscup_Newsletter
BEN'S FACEBOOK PAGE: bengrosscupmusic

[@susanrogers242]

Outstanding song, Ben. The message is strong and clear!😀

[@davidschultz6840]

Love this song and the added lyrics to what Billy Bragg did! Powerful.

[@jonassundell9366]

Bragg and u r great! Greetings from Gothenburg Sweden.

[@donnag.brasher2597]

🤣 Great Parody! covers more problems that are going on in the country than the original song! 5'3 obese people buying fudge rounds with food stamps is the least of our problems!😄😀

[@johncloss4822]

Thanks Ben clear video helps spread the music.

[@KudosToYou]

So when your neighbor’s in pain, and he’s putting on pounds And he takes a pill just so he move around Something’s wrong when we let him drown In the shame of being kicked so damn far down I love this line so much! This is so good.

[@wbworkout]

Awesome song Ben! I love it and it's on my need to learn list. You are spot on!

[@CCBPeace]

Great song, Ben!

[@HeavyBallsDyl]

truer words never been spoken keep fighting the good fight

[@twiexcursori]

It's an important message, and the more people are saying it, the better

[@zakkfedak]

Really love and appreciate this. Solidarity forever pal!

[@alicesutter3411]

Love it!!!! Telling it like it is!!!

[@saucerfull1]

Ben Grosscup...it is all so difficult. You are doing a good thing!!!

[@taureanbeaver3203]

I really don't want to upset the song, but at this point joining a union doesn't even fix most of this stuff. What we need are unions that do some gangster ass shit like the earliest days of the teamsters.

[@BenGrosscup]

I appreciate the sentiment that many actually existing unions in this country need to step up their game and not be so willing to stay within the narrow lines given to them. While I believe strongly that we need the already existing unions, I don't mean to suggest that they are the only unions that are up to the job of leading a fight back. I do mean to say that to lead a fight back, it's gotta be organized and we need to look to the union tradition for models.

[@Jishy2415]

join the IWW then, its a radical industrial union based on uniting the working class behind the banner of one big union to overthrow capitalism.

[@GildedVoice]

vastly prefer this version

[@Noah-SugarPan]

Really great stuff, Ben. Always enjoy your work but Oliver Anthony's garbage song really needs more push back out there. I can't think of a more cultural significant example of astroturfing than that song going viral: A rich hobby farmer who owns 80+ acres making a song with vaguely anti-wealth sentiments that eventually boils down to "it's poor people's fault for being on welfare!". And I truly believe the "obese people/fudge rounds" comment is a not so subtle dogwhistle to the racist "welfare queens eating bonbons" sentiment vocalized during the Reagan years. I also find it curious that Richmond, VA was the capital city of the confederate union. Hmm. A truly insidious and manipulative example of right-wing propaganda pointing fingers at all the wrong people. I truly applaud you for even attempting to push back on that garbage despite it's popularity and the derision you are receiving for circulating the Billy Bragg parody of it. Keep it up, you're a real one and we need folks like you more than ever to try and represent the pro-worker progressive cause.

[@BenGrosscup]

I appreciate you leaving me a comment about my work! I want to emphasize that my class enemy is the Billionaire class. Oliver Anthony is not my enemy, even if there are billionaires who are using his work for their own purposes. Obviously, what I have to say is different than Oliver Anthony and obviously I'm using the musical idiom of his song (as well as Billy Bragg's response to it) as the vehicle for what I have to say. Part of what I have to say to people who, like myself, are on the left is that we too need to stay focused on the class war and not allow ourselves to be distracted by the culture war. There is a way in which even the cultural criticism about "Rich Men North of Richmond" gets funneled into the dynamic of culture war. This is the lens through which almost all political grievances in the US get refracted. But this really doesn't serve the interests of the working class, in my humble opinion. Thank you again for leaving a comment!

[@Noah-SugarPan]

@@BenGrosscup I appreciate your take, I admit that my frustration with the success that the ruling class has had in infiltrating the working class occasionally causes me to lash out at the "right", which as you said is effectively playing into the division being intentionally perpetuated by billionaires and corporations, etc. I will try to re-frame my perspective to keep focused on building working class solidarity. Damn, It's frustrating to see that I'm no more immune to culture war issues than those who I have been deriding but it's at least humbling to be able to grow via that introspection. Thanks for your thoughts

[@BenGrosscup]

@@Noah-SugarPan Thanks for sharing your introspection. There are real political fights within the working class about substantive issues, including issues that get sucked up by the culture war. Staying focused on the material issues as opposed to the identity issues is an approach that can create principled unity.

[@4gave1]

Unions are in bed with Rich Men North of Richmond

[@BenGrosscup]

I would be curious to know who you think the "Rich Men North of Richmond" are. The class enemy of working people is not limited to a specific geographic location, even if there is a high concentration of them in the nation's capital. Some unions can be rightly criticized for being too close to the Democratic party. Nonetheless, what defines a union is the process by which workers get together with other workers to advance their interests. Some in the labor movement believe aligning with the Democrats is in their interest. I argue that unions need to express political power independently of the Democratic Party. But there is no way to advance the interests of working people without unions.

[@mptdevildog0811]

Well only 47,999,000 less people have heard your version.

[@BenGrosscup]

What gives me a sense of purpose in life and in my songwriting is not just about numbers of views on KZbin, but about the ability to convey important ideas clearly. Feel free to disagree with what my song says, but I think the number of views on a song doesn't change whether or not the ideas expressed therein are valid.

[@monsatlanta]

This is the Pat Boone version of Rich Men North Richmond. 😅 Unions have gotten too powerful and all they do is fund political parties, primarily Democrats and protect crappy workers which over time has become the majority. All of government is unionized, that's why it performs so poorly.

[@KudosToYou]

Wow, so, together we're weak and divided we're strong, then? What kind of backwards-ass lesson is that?

[@ATLANTABOY527]

Someone been drinking to much of the koolaid facts show a direct link to a better middle class

[@monsatlanta]

Yeah, I don't believe I said together we're weak, and divided we're strong. Socialism is the greatest form of government, on one condition. If you live in a small tribe where everyone contributes and those who produce and contribute the most are looked up to. Able bodied people that don't contribute don't eat, and eventually are kicked out of the tribe. Together they are strong, and the individual who refuses to contribute will be weak. In a big socialist country, those who produce the most will be rewarded with the same poverty as those who will not produce at all, so what happens is together they all become weak, while the government becomes powerful and rich. You won't see an immigration problem in a socialist country, they build walls to keep people in, not out. @@KudosToYou

[@KudosToYou]

You're attacking a strawman of socialism. to each according to their ability to each according to their need, everybody eats. Your description of big socialist countries is absurd. Are there walls keeping people locked inside Sweden? Socialism is democratic, capitalism takes power away from everyone but the wealthy.@@monsatlanta

[@BenGrosscup]

The government functions poorly in part because it's been so privatized. Just look at the non-unionized private military contractors that produce for (and often help carry out) the US Empire's murderous wars all over the planet. The "regular" government functions poorly because it has been fully seized by the billionaire class to serve its needs, which include security and repression. The government does not serve the needs of the public which include education, housing, and an organized way of reducing ecological devastation. Btw, calling people "crappy workers" is a form of contempt for working people I can't abide.

[@__Christian_]

Sad attempt at a parody of a great song lol

[@BenGrosscup]

Do you say that because you dislike the message? Or do you find the lyrics to be weak?

[@tylerparziale868]

@@BenGrosscup If I can add I think its a little bit more about the energy/ performance . The lyrics are a good parody, but it has a level of camp / almost musical sentiment thats more reminiscent of AJJ / Folkpunk than the soul filled bluegrass original. Oliver Anthony sounds like hes belting from lived experience and pain, and your version feels more like a picket song which can be seen as slightly dishonest/ coercive. I like your version but it doesnt make me want to put trust into you .

[@BenGrosscup]

@@tylerparziale868 That is a fascinating response. Thank you. I am a picket line singer. I regularly sing for union events and strikes. There's a way in which I view music as a cultural means to a political end. But I am explicit about what end I'm aiming for. I'm also not able to sing like Oliver Anthony, to be sure. Your comment, while challenging to me in some ways, is also quite interesting to me in thinking about authenticity of performance. Thanks.

[@__Christian_]

@@BenGrosscup sorry for the late response. In my experience, unions have never done anything for me except take money from my checks. So I’m not sure how I feel about the over all message.

[@BenGrosscup]

@@__Christian_ Thank you for leaving a thoughtful reply! I'm curious what unions you have belonged to. I would agree with you if what you are saying is that some unions do a poor job of representing the interests and needs of their members. However, I think one has to take into account not only the actions of union leadership but also the broader political context in which they operate, which is dominated by the bosses and exceedingly hostile to unionization. My experience with unions is mostly supporting workers who are on strike by singing songs that amplify the reasons why they have gone on strike. Striking workers can win big gains by striking against their bosses. I have seen this in my own work with both unionized nurses and grocery store workers. But it is hard. Victories often yield less than the workers deserve. As imperfect as unions are, they are the only kind of organization that workers can form that directly improve their working conditions in a capitalist economy. So that is why it is important to support unionization. It is also important that unionized workers fight for change within their unions to ensure that unions fight against the bosses and for the workers and that not too many concessions are made with management. And this process is happening right now all over the US Labor Movement.

[@FuckGoogle2]

Interesting sentiment but around here unions have become repressive themselves.

[@BenGrosscup]

Unions are organizations that reflect the political and social contradictions of the world they inhabit. But if you want to advance a politics that advances the interests of the working class, you have to organize unions, and all that necessarily means is that workers combine together to advance their interests which are opposed to the interest of the bosses.

[@KudosToYou]

Then start MORE unions. The whole idea is to give more power to the workers and the people to try to balance the scales. Nobody is arguing that being in a union is going to make everything better automatically, but without them there's absolutely no hope of lifting the working class. Absolutely none.