Lindi Ortega’s “You Ain’t Foolin’ Me” opens with the sound of her steady stomping boots, a roguish start to the smirking new track. The song is Ortega’s latest release from her forthcoming album Liberty, out on March 30th.
Ortega calls “You Ain’t Foolin’ Me” the sassy antithesis of the infamous southern slur, “Bless your heart,” one that’s usually accompanied by a rolled eye and shaking head. She doesn’t waste any time sugar-coating the shade in this track, as she deviously calls out less-than-loyal friends, analogizing them to lions dressed in sheep’s clothing.
Still, in true southern fashion, Ortega pseudo-kindly addresses the accused with an endearing title, then just as quickly turns to lay it out without reserve: “My dear friend / Why must you insist we pretend / That you don’t wish that I was dead / I know that’s how you feel.” She snarls each scornful verse over a pulsating backing track until the song comes flaring up in the chorus, as Ortega sings the punchy line, “You think you’re fooling me, but you ain’t.”
About “You Ain’t Foolin’ Me,” Ortega said:
In this song, our character has some unsavory friends – particularly the backstabbing two-faced variety. But he/she is wise to this and knows maybe it’s time to give these friends the boot. Some Southerners say the phrase “bless your heart” may have negative connotations, and while it appears like a lovely thing to say, it is sometimes meant in a mean-spirited way. I was drawing from that concept when I wrote this song. The mean folks parading as angels but we know they ain’t no angels.
You can listen to “You Ain’t Foolin’ Me” above.
