Country singer says Oliver Anthony's hit song goes back to 'roots' of the genre: 'Just speaks a lot of truth'

Oliver Anthony, the red-bearded Virginia farmer with a guitar and a distinct twang, has become a virtual overnight sensation with his song "Rich Men North of Richmond," and a fellow singer says he's connected because he's returned to the "roots" of country music, not because he's making a political statement. 

"You hear Oliver Anthony come out, sing this song, and it's just with emotion and feeling and not a lot of instrumentation. It kind of goes back to the roots of the music," singer Dewey Via told Fox News Digital.

A YouTube video of Anthony performing an acoustic version of his hit song has amassed more than 17 million views and counting. In his screed against greedy Washington politicians and a lament for the forgotten working class, Anthony frets working "overtime hours for bulls--t pay," high taxation, money being worthless, the young male suicide epidemic and other societal ills.

"Protest songs are nothing new," Via said, but this one is clicking with him and others in a way that's hard to explain, at a time when some critics say mainstream country music has become too pop-oriented.