Scornful Woman

Album: released as a single (2025)
Charted: 102
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Oliver Anthony (real name: Christopher Lunsford) was married to Tiffany Lunsford for several years, and the couple had children together, including one born as recently as October 2023. Anthony wrote "Scornful Woman" about their divorce and the legal and financial battles that followed his rapid rise to fame and fortune after his breakout hit "Rich Men North Of Richmond."
  • The song is Anthony's raw, blues-soaked reaction to divorce court and its accompanying headaches: custody battles, asset wrangling, and the disorienting feeling of becoming rich and famous just as your personal life falls apart. Released on June 4, 2025, while his divorce was still grinding its way through the system, the track carries the sting of fresh wounds.
  • Anthony roped in Billy Contreras, a fiddle wizard known for touring with Ricky Skaggs, and guitarist Joey Davis to play on the song. Both also have writing credits, their contributions turning "Scornful Woman" into a fiery blues-rock hybrid.
  • Draven Riffe produced "Scornful Woman." He helps run the RadioWV YouTube channel, the very outlet that launched Anthony into the spotlight with "Rich Men North of Richmond."
  • The recording has a backwoods, seat-of-the-pants charm. In January 2025, a snowstorm buried Anthony's West Virginia home just as the band was hauling gear up the mountain. Then the power went out. Salvation came in the form of the last generator at the Lowe's in Bluefield, plus a shopping cart's worth of extension cords. "I guess you could technically say this song is gas powered," Anthony quipped.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Dino Cazares of Fear Factory

Dino Cazares of Fear FactorySongwriter Interviews

The guitarist/songwriter explains how he came up with his signature sound, and deconstructs some classic Fear Factory songs.

Dave Edmunds

Dave EdmundsSongwriter Interviews

A renowned guitarist and rock revivalist, Dave took "I Hear You Knocking" to the top of the UK charts and was the first to record Elvis Costello's "Girls Talk."