"I'm Down" is a twelve-bar-blues song by the Beatles written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and first released as the B-side to the single "Help!" in 1965. According to critic Richie Unterberger of Allmusic, "I'm Down" is "one of the most frantic rockers in the entire Beatles catalog." The song was influenced by 1950s rhythm & blues artists—Amazon.com called it a "homage to Little Richard."—and some critics see it as a rewrite of Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally", but Unterberger says there are significant differences, too. Another example of this style song by McCartney is 1964's "She's a Woman", the B-side of "I Feel Fine".

The Beatles recorded "I'm Down" on 14 June 1965 in the same session as "Yesterday" and "I've Just Seen a Face". The Beatles recorded the backing track in seven takes. The first of these takes can be heard on Anthology 2, with a quiet organ track and no backing vocals.

During the session, particularly between takes one and two, McCartney can be heard repeating the phrase "Plastic soul, man, plastic soul". He later revealed that the phrase, which The Beatles later adapted for the title of their album Rubber Soul, was used by black musicians to describe Mick Jagger. The official release date for the "Help"/"I'm Down" single was 19 July 1965 in the U.S. and 23 July in the UK "I'm Down" was never released on an official Beatle studio album, and was only available in the U.S. in mono as the B-side of the "Help!" single until the summer of 1976.

That year, it appeared in stereo on Rock 'n' Roll Music, a compilation LP released in America by Capitol Records featuring uptempo Beatles' tracks. The first CD release was in 1988 on the compilation Past Masters, Volume One, where it appeared in true stereo.

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