For about a dozen years, India Ramey had been relying on Klonopin to quell the lingering panic that was a byproduct of the spousal abuse she witnessed as a child in her Alabama home. Withdrawal was a nightmare, and the Nashville-based Ramey—a former district attorney turned honky-tonk force of nature—was compelled to seek help at rehab a facility just a day after the release show for her 2020 album, Shallow Graves. Even with Ramey on the mend, that darkly beautiful effort was her international breakthrough, reaching number six on the Euro Americana Chart.
Four years later, Ramey has shifted from recovery to empowerment. “Down For The Count” is one of many tracks on Baptized By The Blaze that revel in this new-found strength. Her fifth LP, crisply produced by Luke Wooten (Jim Lauderdale, Dierks Bentley), is available Friday on Mule Kick Records.
“It’s a breakup song that raises a middle finger to the patriarchy and all the Judge Judys out there who try to tell women how to act,” says Ramey of her latest single. “The woman in this song is blown to bits over a breakup and isn’t interested in handling it gracefully or rationally. There’s an old saying that the best way to get over someone is to get under somebody else. That’s where this woman is—and she’s not apologizing for it.”
The killer opening line of this fierce barnburner (“I put 10 men between you and me”) was a gift from Ramey’s sister. “I channeled my little sassy-ass 22-year-old self,” she says. “The song just kind of took shape from there.”
Ramey shot the video for “Down For The Count” at Eastside Bowl in Madison, Tenn. “Stacie Huckeba filmed and directed it,” says Ramey. “She came up with the idea for all the neat little transitions to different rooms within the venue. I thought it mirrored the fun, vintage vibe of the song.”
We’re proud to premiere the “Down For The Count” video.
—Hobart Rowland
See India Ramey live.
