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==About==
In a 1991 interview[https://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/display/580][https://ninlivewww.comnin.live/showsartists/nin/concerts/1991/19910901.html-9-1-de-doelen], Reznor gave some background on the song:
<blockquote>"Down In It"... That was probably... that was the first song I'd ever written. And I sat down, I took a very experimental approach to it. And the original version I did was about half speed of the one on the record. And it was a total rip-off of "Dig It" by [[Skinny Puppy]]. I'll admit that now. But, um, lyrically, I was just experimenting with just kind of a train-of-thought, writing down whatever I thought and all it was was a kind of... I hate to say what I'm talking about, but I'll do it now, since it's so old I just like to think about it now. It was just this feeling of, like, at an earlier stage of my life I thought I had my act together, I thought I knew what I wanted to do. I thought, and thought I had pride in myself, and as I'd gotten older, and realized that certain things don't work out the way you hoped they would at a certain stage and a lot of the illusions you had been led to believe growing up in a fairly sheltered environment... Just, I dunno, I was kind of coming of age, realizing that, you know, things might not work out sort of feeling. That's kind of the bridge of the song.</blockquote>
At some point in the early 90s, Reznor was approached about licensing a track for a Gatorade commercial. When he rejected this proposal, the company hired someone to record was using a "Down In It" soundalike tracksong, and Reznor looked into the possibility of suing them.[https://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/display/598]
==Appearances==
Leaked in 2025. The leak stated: "this early mix was included on an internal tape of ''Pretty Hate Machine'' made in the [[TVT Records|TVT]] offices in 1989. As the rest of the tape contained final mixes, it is thought to be the originally intended version to appear on the album, referred to by Trent Reznor as the 'original mix' in a March 1990 ''Alternative Press'' interview." This seems to line up with a 1995 article from ''Musician'' magazine[https://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/display/614] which states that LeBlanc had done pre-production work on "Down In It" before it was handed over to Adrian Sherwood.
This version begins with a short beat containing the hi-hat and kick drum with a bit of synth work before the kick drum continues on, with the main synth melody beginning the album version. This is then followed by a stripped-back first verse similar to the demo version from the "Head Like a Hole" single, before progressing similarly to the final/"Skin" version.
===Down In It (Demo from ''Head Like A Hole'')===
Appears on ''Head Like a Hole'' (US) as the last track. Also appears on the ''Demos and Remixes'' and ''Purest Feeling II'' [[bootlegs]]. On the UK ''Down In It'' single, the [[Untitled (from Head Like A Hole)|unlisted track]] from ''Head Like A Hole'' is appended to this track.
This version is stripped down and begins with two hits of the snare before going into the first verse, without the heavy synth work beginning the album/"Skin" version.
====Song Credits====
==Live==
As of [[Fragility 2.0]], Reznor had stated that he didn't like the song as much as he used to, but during the later legs of the [[Live: With Teeth]] tour, it seemed as if he's changed his mind about the song, playing it more as the tour progressed. The song usually features a lot of destruction from Reznor towards the end.
While the song was not performed by Nine Inch Nails during the [[Peel It Back Tour]], [[Boys Noize]] would play the "Boys Noize Dubwerk" remix of the song (a shortened version of the "Singe" remix) in his opening set.
==Music Video==
[[Image:Downinitstill.jpg|thumb|Screenshot from the "Down In It" video]]
"Down In It" was the first Nine Inch Nails [[Nine Inch Nails music videos|music video]], completed in September 1989 to accompany the single release. [https://cplorg.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/iiif/p16014coll5/39203/full/full/0/default.jpg] It was directed by Eric Zimmerman and Benjamin Stokes for H-Gun, who also directed "[[Head Like A Hole (song)|Head Like A Hole]]"." The video depicts Reznor running through downtown Chicago and climbing to the roof of a building, where he slips and falls to his death. Bandmates Richard Patrick and [[Chris Vrenna]] discover the body days later. An extended version of the video also exists, which is set to the "Shred" mix.
This was the first video to be met with controversy. To film the shots of lifeless Reznor, he was covered with cornstarch to create the illusion of decay and cameras were tied to heavy-duty balloons that were tied down. During the filming of these scenes, one of the balloons broke free and took the camera with it, drifting some 200 miles before being found by a farmer in Michigan. The camera was turned over to local police who, upon seeing the raw video footage, assumed it was a snuff film and the FBI was called in to investigate. The incident was even reported on ''Hard Copy'' and recalled in an interview for ''SPIN'' magazine. Because MTV and its US affiliates were uncomfortable with the video's subject matter, all scenes that depict Reznor's body lying on the ground behind the building were deleted.
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
The second line is changed on the final recording to:
Sometimes I don't believe them myself and I decided I was never coming down
The fourth line is changed on the final recording to:
Backing vocals in ''Pretty Hate Machine'' version:
Rain , rain , go away, come again some other day.
During live performances, the last line of the third verse is often changed to: