Behind the Meaning of Kelsea Ballerini’s “If You Go Down (I’m Going Down Too)”

Many country artists have played the role of a vengeful murderer before. The murder ballad is a strange, yet common occurrence in the genre. However, few have done so quite as playfully as Kelsea Ballerini does in “If You Go Down (I’m Going Down Too)” (usually stylized in all-caps).

In this song, Ballerini grabs her friends, a bottle of rosé, and a sharp knife primed for killing. Murder has never sounded so fun. Check out the meaning behind this Ballerini hit, below.

Behind the Meaning

I’ve known you since Brad and Angelina
We go back like Pontiac seats
If I got an aisle with a mess I gotta clean up
I know you’ll be showin’ up with bleach

We all have that one close friend that we’d do anything for. In this case, the task is murder and Ballerini knows just what buddies she needs to bring along. In the opening line, she describes an old friend (I’ve known you since Brad and Angelina) who is always there to help her clean up her messes (“I know you’ll be showin’ up with bleach“).

Luckily for them, they are each other’s kind of crazy. In the chorus, she sings about their downfalls, issues, and mistakes being as much each other’s burden as it is their own.

‘Cause dirt on you is dirt on me
And we both know our hands ain’t clean
If it all blows up and we end up on the news
If you go down, I’m goin’ down too

In the accompanying music video for this song, it’s Ballerini’s husband that she needs to do away with. In the end, she and her accomplices get booked for the crime. But, as Ballerini says, Thirty to life would go quicker with you.

I keep all your secrets by the dozen
You know where my skeletons sleep
Hypothetically, if you ever kill your husband
Hand on the Bible, I’d be lyin’ through my teeth

(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)