"I'm Going Down" is the sound of a relationship becoming unsustainable. Rose Royce recorded it in 1976 as a song about a woman who has reached the end of what she can tolerate. She is not angry. She is not fighting. She is going down, down, down, and she cannot stop herself. The repetition of the title captures the helplessness of watching yourself fall apart and being unable to change direction. The descent is not dramatic. It is the slow, quiet realization that you cannot stay any longer.