Oliver Anthony, the man who brought us the No. 1 anthem, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” released another track Tuesday.
“I Want To Go Home” dropped just days after Anthony’s first-ever single hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart, beating out country music stars Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs for the top spot. The lyrics of Anthony’s latest track hit even harder than “Rich Men North of Richmond,” as they focus on the blatant divide-and-conquer operations driving Americans deeper into hatred against each other, not the evil trying to rip us apart.
“If it won’t for my old dogs and the good Lord / They’d have me strung up in the psych ward,” Anthony opens the track, which was enough to bring tears to my eyes (I feel like I’d be in the same place if it weren’t for God, my partner and my pets).
The song tells a story of a man wanting to go home to the Kingdom of Heaven before his time. It paints an honest picture of this world, which is too dark, too confusing, and our future is so bleak as a species it’s hard to know why we even bother carrying on. But God is the reason we have to keep carrying on.
He put us here, Anthony here, right now, to say no to this darkness. We’re here to walk in His light, and bring that Kingdom to Earth. If He wanted us back in Heaven, He’d take us. But He hasn’t, which means we still have work to do while we’re here. (RELATED: The True Life Story Behind Mega Viral Country Hit ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Sent Chills Up My Spine)
Sometimes it’s hard, but that’s the point. If we can move past our own selfishness, greed and yearning for things like fame and pedantic competition between ourselves, our colleagues and our so-called friends, we could make the world a utopia. But that doesn’t make rich people richer, so it ain’t gonna happen unless we do it ourselves.
My heart and head hope Anthony’s song will echo for generations to come. I know it’s already made me think far more deeply about how I want to live the rest of my life.