The Beast in Me

"The Beast in Me" is a song performed by English musician Nick Lowe. The song features slow, mournful music and lyrics describing the narrator's struggle with destructive habits and personality traits: "The beast in me / Is caged by frail and fragile bars".

The recording debut for "The Beast In Me" was by American singer Johnny Cash from his American Recordings album released in April 1994. Cash was Lowe's stepfather-in-law from 1979 to 1990, during Lowe's marriage to singer Carlene Carter. A live version of the song by Cash appears on his 2005 DVD Live at Montreux 1994.

Lowe's first recording of the song appeared in his album The Impossible Bird, released in November 1994. A live version by Lowe appears on his 2004 live album Untouched Takeaway.

In 2025 Netflix will release a limited series called “The Beast in Me” created by Gabe Rotter, starring Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys.

Covers

Year	Singer/Group	Album	Comments
1994	Johnny Cash	American Recordings
1996	Camisa de Vênus	Quem é Você?	Retitled to Portuguese "O Mal que Habita em Mim"
1998	Trevor Harrison (as “Eddie Grundy”)	The World of Eddie Grundy	previously appeared on the various artists compilation album Doing It Right in 1996
2006	Jim Byrnes (actor)	House of Refuge
2007	Remate	No Land Recordings
2007	Marc Vincent	Secrets of a Bedroom Artist
2008	Martin Kitcher Band	Eyes to the Left
2008	Mark van den Berg	Sings the Hits of Johnny Cash	tribute album to Johnny Cash
2011	Skeggs	Shades of Cash	tribute album to Johnny Cash
2011	Mark Lanegan	The Hangover Part II: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2011	Willie Carmichael	Patched and Pulled Together
2011	Farrell Spence	Song for the Sea
2012	The Vaccines	Please Please Do Not Disturb
2014	Delaney Davidson	Swim Down

Appearances in other media

The Lowe studio version of the song features over the closing credits of the pilot episode of US television show The Sopranos. The song features on the commercially available soundtrack CD.

Lowe's version also features in series 4 episode 2 of Being Human.

Johnny Cash's version appears in the 2011 film The Hangover: Part II but Mark Lanegan did a version for the soundtrack.

Melwood Cutlery's version of the song features over the closing credits of Project Grizzly, a 1996 National Film Board documentary about Canadian inventor, Troy Hurtubise and his quest to create a suit in which to meet a Grizzly Bear.

The Lowe version plays over the closing credits of season 2's episode 6, of the Epix series 'Get Shorty' and of episode 3 of the 2023 BBC serial about the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery and its aftermath, The Gold.