Roll of the Dice: I’m Goin’ Down

I like to think of “I’m Goin’ Down” as the inevitable bookend to “Fire,” just desserts for the earlier song’s creepy narrator.

The sixth of an astonishing seven consecutive Top Ten singles from Born in the U.S.A., “I’m Goin’ Down” is tied with the album’s title track for worst performing on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking “only” at #9. (I still can’t wrap my head around how “Cover Me” fared so well by comparison.)

“I’m Goin’ Down” is also arguably the least substantial track on the album, with only “Darlington County” rivalling it for comic relief value. But If that sounds like I’m being dismissive, I’m not–“I’m Goin’ Down” is a contender for Bruce’s best pop song, and one of the E Street Band’s finest (or at least funnest) moments on record.

The boys sound like they’re having a blast, and even without visuals, their energy and playfulness are infectious–especially during the instrumental bridge and wordless outro, where Bruce and the band vamp like their lives depend on it. (And that’s just in the released version–if you haven’t heard the unreleased extended version, you’re in for a delight at the end of this post.)

As I alluded at the top, “I’m Goin’ Down,” bears more than a little lyrical resemblance to “Fire.” Both songs revolve around a sexually frustrated narrator, but whereas “Fire” is a taut, smoldering snapshot of a couple at the onset of a relationship (if it ever became one–by today’s standards, it’s kind of a creepy song), “I’m Goin’ Down” takes us to what seems to be its imminent dissolution.

Both songs even start in the same place: the narrator’s car. And if you compare the first verse of each song, it sure seems like Bruce was intentionally inviting comparison.

The songs diverge from there, and neither rewards lyrical analysis. “Fire” and “I’m Goin’ Down” are both pop songs, and Bruce puts everything on the surface.

We get dressed up and we go out, baby, for the night
We come home early burning, burning, burning in some fire fight
I’m sick and tired of you setting me up, yeah, setting me up just to
Knock-a, knock-a, knock-a me down, down, down, down
I’m going down, down, down, down

I pull you close now baby, but when we kiss I can feel a doubt
I remember back when we started, my kisses used to turn you inside out
I used to drive you to work in the morning, Friday night I’d drive you all around and
You used to love to drive me wild, yeah, but lately girl you get your kicks from just
Driving me down, down, down, down
I’m going down, down, down, down

But just because “I’m Goin’ Down” is lyrically light doesn’t mean it isn’t skillfully crafted. There’s a reason why it became a big radio hit, and it’s the same reason you probably love singing along to it on the radio or in concert.

Perhaps more than any other song in Bruce’s catalog, “I’m Goin’ Down” is about phonics more than lyrics.

There’s a term for random syllables that are just plain fun to sing–it’s called vocalise, and it’s at the heart of the doo-wop branch of rock and roll. “Down” is one of those syllables. Bruce knew it–whether consciously or sub-consciously–and built a song around it. “I’m Goin’ Down” repeats that classic doo-wop “down” syllable eighty times, and it probably brings a smile to your face each time you sing it.

It’s not the only vocalised trick Bruce pulls out of his hat–there’s also the “knock-a knock-a knock-a” is well. (Pairing it with the “down down down” results in one of my favorite lyrical lines in Bruce’s entire catalog.)

Bruce took lessons from the genre and added a couple of his own twists: first, he turned nonsense syllables into actual words–achieving the same phonic impact of songs like Barry Mann and Gerry Goffin’s “Who Put the Bomp” without it seeming gratuitous.

Secondly, there’s irony on display: as Mann and Goffin note in their song, doo wop syllables typically have an alluring rather than off-putting effect, which helps explain why even though it’s an angry song, “I’m Goin’ Down” is just a ton of fun to sing.

And then of course there’s the band.

Every E Streeter shines throughout. Max is the most prominent, but Clarence takes a terrific solo, Roy is at his honky-tonk best, Danny is all over the track, and even Garry gets an unusual workout. And the importance of Steve’s mandolin cannot be omitted–it sets our expectation for a romantic tale so that Bruce can quickly pull the rug out from under us.

The best part of the song is the song’s final minute, where the band vamps in tight formation while Bruce scats his way into the sunset. It’s one of my favorite E Street studio minutes, and like I mentioned earlier, it’s even better in its unabridged form. Here’s an unreleased take featuring an outro that’s as long as the song itself–turn up the volume and enjoy.

And to think “I’m Goin’ Down” almost didn’t make the record.

It wasn’t an afterthought–in fact, it was one of the earlier songs recorded for Born in the U.S.A. on the heels of the Nebraska sessions, and it was slotted for Bruce’s next album from the beginning. But somewhere along the line it was shelved, and only at the last minute did Bruce add it back. (Early promotional copies of Born in the U.S.A. didn’t include “I’m Goin’ Down”–that’s how late an addition it was.)

In concert, “I’m Goin’ Down” was an immediate hit. Bruce typically hammed it up with an introductory explanation (as if the song required any).

And while it’s been a lot more difficult to catch “I’m Goin’ Down” in concert since the Born in the U.S.A. tour ended (it didn’t even show up again until the Rising Tour), it’s made enough appearances over the last decade and a half to be considered a decent-odds selection if you’re chasing it.

Here’s one of Bruce’s best recent performances, from the Wrecking Ball Tour in 2013.

“I’m Goin’ Down” continued to turn up throughout Bruce’s 2016 River Tour and 2017 Australian Tour, so here’s hoping it’ll be back for another go-round soon.

I’m Goin’ Down
Recorded: May 13, 1982
Released: Born in the U.S.A. (1984)
First performed: August 17, 1984 (East Rutherford, NJ)
Last performed: February 18, 2017 (Hunter Valley, Australia)

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