Going Down
Alice in Videoland Lyrics

The opening lines of Alice in Videoland's "Going Down" suggest that the singer is aware of their own failure, and that it's something they've experienced before. The lines "I can smell my defeat / I can tell it's on repeat" imply that the singer is familiar with the feeling of failure, and is worried about experiencing it again. The second line is particularly interesting, as it suggests that the singer is already aware that this experience will repeat, before they've even failed. This speaks to an underlying fatalism in the song, as if the singer is resigned to the idea that they will always fail.

The third line, "It's in slow-motion in my head", suggests a certain detachment from the experience. It's not just that the singer is experiencing failure, it's that they're experiencing it in an oddly detached way. Perhaps they're numb to the pain of failure, or perhaps they're so used to it that they're able to observe it from a distance.

The next line, "Your devotion's to be dead", suggests that the singer is not alone in their failure. There is someone in their life who has let them down, and who they are now blaming for their own unhappiness. This thread continues throughout the song, with the singer blaming others for their own failures, rather than taking responsibility for their own actions. The chorus, "I'm going down / Can't pretend, it's gonna end / It's all around / Takes my soul beyond control / I'm going down", speaks to this sense of inevitability. The singer feels helpless in the face of their own failure, as if the world is conspiring against them.

The verses that follow continue this theme. The singer can't recall anything positive, and feels as if they've been burned by their own desires. They blame themselves for playing with fire, but at the same time suggest that they didn't have a choice. The line "I can't trust since I'd been used / Should have felt it from the start / But I melted with my heart" suggests that the singer has been hurt in the past, and that they are now cynically assuming that everyone will hurt them. They blame themselves for not being more wary, but at the same time see their own naivety as admirable.

Overall, "Going Down" is a song about failure, fatalism, and blame. The singer is aware of their own shortcomings, but at the same time feels as if they are powerless to change their fate. They blame others for their own unhappiness, rather than taking responsibility for their own actions. It's a melancholy song, but one that captures the sense of despair that can come from repeated failure and disappointment.