Jessi Alexander Knows Why ‘Mama Drank’ in New Acoustic Performance [Exclusive Video]

Jessi Alexander sings the stressed-out and stretched-thin mama's blues in "Mama Drank," an anthem for anybody who's ever felt the need to take the edge off. The singer-songwriter puts an acoustic spin on the song in a new video, filmed inside her Airstream trailer on her property in Franklin, Tenn. Press play above to watch the clip, which is premiering exclusively for readers of The Boot.

Donning flannel, jeans and a world-weary sense of humor, Alexander seems to feel every lyric of the song -- and that's because she sings from experience. A mom of three herself, the artist penned "Mama Drank" in a moment of exasperation with her own "delicate dance" between holding down a job and taking care of her family.

"[This song is] one I had to live to write," Alexander said of "Mama Drank" in a recent listening party during which she shared her new music. "I had this title when our firstborn was probably six months old. I think I said it as I was changing a diaper or something, and I thought, 'Phew, I know why my mamma drank.'"

"Mama Drank" is the first song released from Alexander's forthcoming Decatur County Red album. An eight-track homage to the singer's home county on the Tennessee River, the project is the first she's released since 2014 -- though, in the meantime, Alexander has been busy as a successful songwriter in Nashville.

In fact, at the time she wrote "Mama Drank," Alexander didn't have any plans to release an album of her own original material. At first, she says, she hoped that somebody else would cut the song.

"I actually pitched [the song idea] to other female artists, and I'm so glad no one bit on it, because it was waiting on me to live it to write it," Alexander continues. Then, one night, she and her husband -- fellow songwriter Jon Randall -- returned to "Mama Drank."

"We got pretty drunk on a bottle of wine and finished [the song] in front of a fire at about two in the morning," Alexander recalls with a laugh, adding that, in addition to telling her own story, the song is a tribute to the women of country music who came before her.

"This is me paying homage to Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, people that sang and wrote about stuff they saw," she explains. "This is for the working mama, the single mama, the forgotten mama, the stay-at-home mama ... I'm just so excited about this being out there right now."

Decatur County Red is due for release on March 27.

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