The man who wrote "Rich Men North of Richmond" now says that the song is about the sort of people who took part in the recently held first Republican presidential primary debate. 

Anthony - whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford - said as much in a video that he posted on Friday, according to Fox News.

The backstory here is that Anthony's song was featured during that first Republican presidential primary debate, which was put on by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and hosted by Fox News on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023.

The debate, which took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, began with the chorus of the song being played. Then, the first question that the debate moderators asked participants was why the song has been such a success.

The Washington Examiner reports:

Anthony has more than 4.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify, an increase from the 40,000 he had before releasing his latest song. His Instagram account has gained followers since the release of his song. He now has over 1 million followers and previously had fewer than 10,000.

In the video that he posted on Friday, Anthony, among other things, responded to the use of his song during the debate.

"It was funny seeing it at the presidential debate because it's like I wrote that song about those people, you know, so for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up," he said.

Anthony added, "Like that song has nothing to do with Joe Biden, you know? It's a lot bigger than Joe Biden. That song is written about the people on that stage and a lot more, too, not just them, but definitely them."

This statement from Anthony has confused many. After all, Anthony says that the song is about the people who took part in the Republican presidential primary debate but that it "has nothing to do with Joe Biden."

The confusion stems from the fact that the song's lyrics sure do seem to refer to people like President Joe Biden.

Other statements made by Anthony in the video he posted on Friday have only added to this confusion. Anthony, for example, said:

The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up into this. I'm disappointed to see — like it's aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me like I'm one of them. It's aggravating seeing certain musicians and politicians act like we're buddies and act like we're fighting the same struggle here like that we're trying to present the same message.

So, apparently, Anthony's music is not supposed to be about politics. But, at the same time, it is meant to refer to the people who took part in the Republican presidential primary debate but it has nothing to do with Biden.

It is not really clear where this puts things. Perhaps, Anthony himself is not sure. This may be one of those situations in which the artist does not fully understand what it is that he has captured.

Whatever the case may be, the one thing that can be said with certainty is that Anthony's song expresses a truth that is resonating with people around the world.