How to play guns n roses sweet child of mine
The Story Behind Guns N’ Roses’ Biggest Hit
From a riff that was nearly cast aside to the top of the charts.
Guns N' Roses - Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage
After the release of “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” nothing was ever the same for Guns N’ Roses. Their debut album, Appetite For Destruction, hit the shelves in July 1987 and initially struggled to make an impact. The album debuted at No 182 on the Billboard 200 and its first two singles, “It’s So Easy” and “Welcome To The Jungle” didn’t do much better. Pressure from the band’s record label, Geffen, encouraged MTV to give the “Welcome To The Jungle” video some late night plays, though, and the song eventually became the most requested video on the network. By April 1988, Appetite For Destruction had gone platinum in the US.
The stage was set for a breakthrough single, and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” couldn’t have been more perfect. From guitarist Slash’s luminous opening riff to its skyscraping chorus, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” was a big-hearted rock anthem with depth and an air of melancholy, demonstrating the beating heart beneath GNR’s sleaze-rock exterior. It was released as a single in June and topped the US Billboard chart. All of a sudden, Guns N’ Roses had become the biggest rock band of their generation.
Listen to Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine'” now.
The riff
It’s incredible to think that, had Slash had his way, the song might’ve been cast aside. That opening riff was a result of Slash fooling around, playing what he later called a “circus melody” and “guitar exercise” while he and the rest of the band (sans Axl) were jamming in the group’s communal home in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. “Initially it was just a cool, neat riff that I’d come up with,” Slash told Total Guitar in 2012. “It was an interesting pattern, and it was really melodic, but I don’t think I would have presented it to the band and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea!’ because I just happened to come up with it while we were all hanging around together.
”
The other members of Guns N’ Roses saw the potential in Slash’s riff and acted upon it, as he told Guitar Edge in 2007, “I was playing the intro riff and they were playing chords behind it. And next thing you know, it was turning into something. I really just thought of it as a joke, but lo and behold, Axl was upstairs in his bedroom, and he heard it.”
The lyrics
Axl Rose had recently been working on a poem dedicated to his then-partner, Erin Everly (daughter of Don, of Everly Brothers fame). It was a departure from the swaggering braggadocio that usually defined Rose’s writing. Here he compared the feeling of being with his partner to that of a more innocent time, especially significant given Rose’s traumatic childhood. He gave the Los Angeles Times a rare insight into the lyric in a 1991 interview, “The ‘blue sky’ line actually was one of my first childhood memories – looking at the blue sky and wishing I could disappear in it because it was so beautiful.
”
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (Official Music Video)
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When Rose heard his bandmates working up “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” his poem came to mind. “Slash and Izzy got working together on the song and I came in, Izzy hit a rhythm, and all of sudden this poem popped into my head,” he said in Geffen press materials circulated in 1987. “It just all came together. A lot of rock bands are too f***ing wimpy to have any sentiment or any emotion in any of their stuff unless they’re in pain. It’s the first positive love song I’ve ever written, but I never had anyone to write anything that positive about, I guess.”
Axl knew the song needed a different approach to the band’s harder-edged material and looked to classic rock for inspiration, as he told Paul Elliott in March 1987, “In Indiana, Lynyrd Skynyrd was considered God – to the point where I ended up saying, ‘I hate this f***ing band!’ And yet, for ‘Sweet Child…’ I went out and got some old Skynyrd tapes to make sure we’d got that downhome, heartfelt feeling.
”
The recording
Rose wasn’t the only member of Guns N’ Roses aware that “Sweet Child O’ Mine” would benefit from a different approach. “I think the best way to be noticed is for not being noticed,” Duff McKagan told Musician in 1988, “In ‘Sweet Child…’, for instance, I thought of old Faces/Rod Stewart bass lines — real cool, not overplaying, but unique.”
While Slash had misgivings about the track, the rest of the band wouldn’t drop it, as he told Guitar Edge, “The next day, we were rehearsing at Burbank Studios and Axl wanted us to play what we had been playing the night before. Pretty soon, it shaped itself into a song, and all of a sudden, it took on this serious kind of tone. It was really hard for me to accept, but that song became Axl’s favorite… I would’ve written that song off as history if anyone else complained about it. I had no idea it would become the biggest song the band ever did.”
Demo sessions with producer Spencer Proffer saw the song evolve further as Proffer suggested the song needed a breakdown towards the end.
Listening to a loop of the demo, Rose was unsure of a direction and repeatedly sang to himself, “Where do we go now?” Proffer realized Rose had hit upon the perfect lyric and an epic rock moment was born. As far as finishing touches go, Slash’s monumental solo proved the cherry on top.
The legacy
On its single release, the impact of “Sweet Child Of Mine” was immense. When the song hit No. 1 in the US, GNR were touring as Aerosmith’s opening act. Before long, they were a far bigger draw than the veteran rock act. A re-release of “Welcome To The Jungle” followed, this time it hit No. 7 in the US, and the raucous party anthem “Paradise City” was next, hitting No 5. A year on from “Sweet Child” hitting the top spot, Appetite For Destruction had sold 8 million copies in the US alone.
“Where do we go now?” asked Axl Rose in “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” He couldn’t have ever guessed the places the song would take him.
Listen to Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine'” now.
Slash tells the story of the Guns N' Roses classic Sweet Child O' Mine: “The saving grace for me was the solo section”
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(Image credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)Every decade has its rock anthem. While the 1970s had Stairway To Heaven and the '90s had Smells Like Teen Spirit, the most memorable riffathon of the 80s has to be the mighty Sweet Child O’ Mine. Despite not being your typical Guns N’ Roses song, Sweet Child… was released in August 1988, and has since gone on to sell a number of records not that far removed from several hundred gazillion. It continues to evoke bittersweet nostalgia for a generation (or two) of music lovers to this day.
Even people who haven’t heard of Guns N’ Roses know and love the track all these years later, judging by its near-constant presence on radio and music TV.
Oh, and there’s the small matter of its primary composer, Saul ‘Slash’ Hudson, playing it at half-time during 2011 Superbowl in front of a TV audience of millions of American football fans. This is a song that will outlive us all.
In passing, I did say that it was sort of a joke or something
It’s been rumoured for years that Slash regarded the ultra-iconic opening riff as a bit of a laugh, but that’s not the whole story, as he told Total Guitar in 2012.
“In passing, I did say that it was sort of a joke or something,” he explained, “but initially it was just a cool, neat riff that I’d come up with. It was an interesting pattern and it was really melodic, but I don’t think I would have presented it to the band and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this idea!’ because I just happened to come up with it while we were all hanging around together. Izzy [Stradlin, GN’R’s second guitarist at the time] was the first one to start playing behind it, and once that happened Axl [Rose, the band’s singer] started making up words, and it took off that way.
”
At the time, none of GN’R had the slightest inkling that Sweet Child O’ Mine would go on to be a planet-busting hit. In fact, Slash found the song mildly irritating. As he explained; “One of the things that always bugged me about Sweet Child… was that it was an uptempo ballad, which didn’t fit what Guns N’ Roses was all about as far as I was concerned. So that song annoyed me every time it came up in the set. It really bugged me!”
Nowadays, Slash is on the wagon, but back in the GN’R era he was an alcoholic (see his 2007 autobiography, Slash, for his account of the grisly details) and that twisty little riff – which is horribly easy to screw up after a few shots of Jack – interfered with his booze consumption.
"That only made him even more impatient with the song. “It really disturbed my drinking,” he chuckled to Total Guitar, “because whenever we did a show I’d have a fair amount of whisky beforehand. But when the song came up in the set, that riff was really hard to remember! [Laughs] So all in all it was a very aggravating song, although ironically it turned out to be the biggest song we ever did.
Apparently, the Superbowl last year was the biggest audience for a TV show ever.”
But while Slash thought Sweet Child… was a bit wussy for, ‘the most dangerous band in the world’ (© A. Rose 1985), and despite the fact that it got in the way of his pre-show tipple, he admitted that parts of it floated his boat. “The saving grace for me was the solo section,” he says. “That was a very organic solo that came together simply. When we said, ‘Here’s the chord changes,’ it occurred very spontaneously, and I always looked forward to that part of the song in the set. It was completely different to the rest of the song.”
The super-warm tone that Slash wrung out of his Les Paul for the solo came from a Marshall amp, although he went elsewhere for the clean chords in the verses. “The only time that I didn’t use a Marshall on Sweet Child… was on the clean bits, and believe it or not, those came through a Roland 120 Jazz Chorus amp, which was hanging around the studio,” he says.
As for the guitar Slash played, it could only ever have been a Les Paul – but perhaps not the Les Paul that you’d expect.
“I was lucky even to have a guitar for the Appetite album,” he explained. “Originally, when I got to the studio, I had somehow, in a fit of desperation, pawned most of my guitars, so all I had was a BC Rich Warlock and two Jacksons. I’d been playing those guitars live, and they sounded OK in a room full of people, but when I actually went and heard them in the cans they sounded f***in’ horrible.”
Fortunately, fate intervened in the form of GN’R manager Alan Niven, Slash recalls. “Right before we went in to do the guitar overdubs, Alan gave me a handmade copy of a 1959 Les Paul made by a guy called Kris Derrig. He built a run of between 50 and 100 immaculate ’59 reissues, and that was the guitar that I used for the whole record. You could never tell that they weren’t Gibsons.” [Slash has continued to record with this Derrig guitar and acquired another in 1996.]
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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsThe story behind Guns N' Roses' song "Sweet Child o' Mine"
Guns N' Roses' first full-length album, Appetite for Destruction, propelled the band internationally and turned its members into superstars.
Perhaps the fans of this group will not agree with me, but the rock ballad Sweet Child o’ Mine is the decoration of plasticity. We will talk about the history of the song, which has long become the hallmark of the group.
The history of creation and the meaning of the song Sweet Child o' Mine
The composition began with a verse that Axl Rose dedicated to his girlfriend Erin Everly, daughter of the famous sixties singer Don Everly.
Guns N' Roses Frontman:
This is a true story about a girl I was dating then... I wrote a poem, got stuck with it and threw it on the shelf. Slash and Izzy then worked on songs together. I joined them, Izzy began to play the rhythm, and suddenly I remembered this verse. It just all came together. nine0003
Hit Parader, 1988
Slash has similar memories of writing Sweet Child o' Mine:
Sweet Child o' Mine was a joke. Everything just worked out well. I was sitting around making funny faces and acting like an idiot and playing that riff.
Izzy started playing the chords I was playing, and Axl suddenly really liked it.
Guitar for the Practicing Musician, 1992
At first, the musicians - with the exception of Axl - thought that nothing would come of Sweet Child o' Mine. Here's what Duff said:
As for Sweet Child, it was written in five minutes. It was one of those songs - just three chords. Remember the guitar part that Slash plays at the beginning? It was kind of a joke because we were like, “What song is this? Nothing will come of it. Is that a place to take on the record. Although she has wise lyrics, although she is very sincere and sweet, Slash was openly fooling around when he came up with the loss.
Hit Parader, 1988
But Rose was sure the song would be a hit. To achieve the desired sound, he learned something from the work of Lynyrd Skynyrd:
I'm from Indiana where Lynyrd Skynyrd are considered gods until you finally say "I hate that damn band!" And yet, as far as Sweet Child o' Mine is concerned.
.. I went out and bought some old Skynyrd cassettes to make sure we got the same sincerity.
Rolling Stone, 1987
Slash also talked about the influences of Sweet Child o' Mine:
This is a whole combination of sources of inspiration. From Jeff Beck, Cream and Led Zeppelin to things that would surprise you: a solo from Blinded by the Light in the version of Manfred Mann and Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street. nine0003
Rolling Stone
Slash took a long time to take Sweet Child o' Mine. He was especially annoyed by the solo that sounds at the beginning of the song:
Now it seems easy, but at first it was very difficult. Especially due to the fact that I drank exorbitant amounts of alcohol and took various chemicals. I just hated playing this song for years.
But over time he fell in love with Sweet Child o' Mine:
Now I really like it because I've tweaked it to the point where it sounds really good when I play it live.
Yes, and I'm used to this song, so I like it a lot more. But it certainly wasn't something I had in my head. Rather, I was just fooling around with the guitar. nine0003
Guitar for the Practicing Musician, 1992
Release and Achievements
The subsequent history of Sweet Child o' Mine is full of great achievements. In August 1988, she came out as a single from the album Appetite for Destruction and topped the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK Singles Chart, the song reached number six. It is included in many well-known rankings of the best compositions, guitar tracks and solos, including the list of the 500 greatest songs of all time according to Rolling Stone.
Sweet Child o' Mine has been covered by many singers and bands: Sheryl Crow, Texas, Luna, Anastacia, Limp Bizkit and others.
In 2013, a video featuring Michelle Kwan from Canada playing a song on the Chinese folk instrument guzheng was very popular.
Sweet Child o' Mine - Guns N' Roses clip
Let's look at the famous video, which was incredibly popular at one time on MTV and other music channels. nine0003
Interesting Facts
- Axl Rose married Erin Everly, to whom the song is dedicated, in April 1990, but their marriage was very short-lived.
- The girls of all the members of the group with whom the musicians met at that time starred in the video clip.
- Sweet Child o' Mine is featured in the movie Wrestler. Axl allowed Rourke, whom he is friends with, to use the song for next to nothing, for which Mickey thanked him at the Golden Globes. nine0087 The phrase “Where do we go?” Axl said at one of the rehearsals while listening to a demo tape. Producer Spencer Proffer offered to sing it at the end of the song.
- The riff from Sweet Child o' Mine can be heard at the end of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Punk Rock Classic.
- In 2006, Axl stated that they originally wanted to dedicate the video to the problem of drug trafficking. It was supposed to be an Asian woman who is carrying a child filled with heroin to the United States. Apparently that's what the song is about. nine0088 Sweet Child o' Mine – Guns N' Roses
She's got a smile it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
She takes me away to that special place
And if I'd stare too long
I'd probably break down and cryOh, oh, oh
Sweet child o' mine
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Sweet love of mineShe's got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder
And the rain
To quietly pass me byWhere do we go?
Where do we go now?Sweet Child o' Mine – Guns N' Roses0103 Every once in a while when I see her face
She takes me to that special place
And if I looked too long
Maybe I would break down and cryOooh
My sweet baby
O oooh
My sweet babyHer eyes are like the bluest skies
As if he thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
When there's even a drop of pain in them
Her hair reminds me warm hiding place,
Where I hid as a child
And prayed for thunder
And rain
Pass me byWhat's next?
What will happen to us next?Quote about the song
I hated it for years, but it caused such a reaction.
You just play those stupid first notes and you get hysterical. So I eventually began to appreciate her. Slash
"Do it, Don Julio!" : Correal was reminded of a joke from 1992 after the announcement of the Guns N' Roses concert in Bogotá
This is a fact: Guns N' Roses will arrive in Bogotá. These same words were spoken in 1992, when the city and the whole country experienced a crisis of violence, the main cause of which was the drug trade; but in doing so, several businessmen, including Julio Correal , one of the creators of events such as the Stereo Picnic festival, achieved what was a feat at the time.
But despite all the ups and downs generated 30 years ago, the "gunners" are returning to the capital of the country and to the El Campin stadium, the old man, famous for Axel Rose and his team. nine0170 After the announcement of this presentation, which will take place on October 11, quite a few fans reacted, remembering Correal's anecdote about the tragicomedy that was supposed to make the group sing in Bogotá.
"My role at the Guns N' Roses concert was as a manager," said the businessman in an iconic Vice story. But in 1992, he wasn't after a rock band, he was flirting (musically, of course) with "El General" because his song "El meneaito" was booming in Bogotá. Thus began a story that hundreds of users have sparked on social media today, especially on Twitter, where as soon as the date of the concert was announced, they did not hesitate to mention the cultural manager. nine0003
Even on Thursday morning he was amazed to wake up to news that touched thousands of Guns fans in Colombia.
You might be interested: Welcome to FilBo! National and Korean films, presidential debates and some guests of the Bogota Literary Fair
Trino de Julio Correal tras conocer que los Guns N' Roses llegarán a Bogotá en octubre de 2022. FOTO: Captura de pantalla de Twitter (@jucorreal)FOTO: Vía TwitterWill Axel Rose remember Correal? If so, this will be the "war of the titans" predicted by the Simpsons.
FOTO: Vía Twitter
"Oops, those daughters will be gone": "empty" Guns N' Roses in the middle of a concert in Bogota
Campin, the flood has hit. No special effects were needed to make the song feel with skin, eyes and ears, and more than 55,000 souls saw the flood that worried Americans fall behind Axel Rose's piano. nine0003
At the same time, the vocalist said to Dale Skjerseth, the group's production manager: "Hey Opie we ready for electric shock, we're back" and "Don Julio" who was making a bareto marijuana cigarette next to the police commander, felt unwell and immediately fled to the dressing room.
"Then I run out, faggot, I go backstage and I see their vans already parked with the doors open and I was like, 'Oops, those daughters are fucking gone, not even for prostitutes'" - Vice Correal recalled when he grabbed his face with both hands.; and after he sees the cars, he meets Skjerseth head-on and doesn't get it in a good way.
