"Estranged" is the longest song on Use Your Illusion II, and one of Guns N' Roses' longest overall. It has many verses, and no set chorus, as well as distinguished guitar and piano solos. Use Your Illusion II's liner notes thank Slash for "the killer guitar melodies," which captured Axl Rose's vision. Slash has specifically stated that recording the guitar parts for this song was very intensive for him; he recorded it using a Les Paul Gold Top, using the treble pickup with the tone turned all the way down.
According to Slash, the song was written while the band was rehearsing for an extended period of time in Chicago. Axl revealed that he wrote the song during a more "bummed out" time in his life.
The music video is the third and final part of an unofficial trilogy of videos (preceded by "Don't Cry" and "November Rain") from the two Use Your Illusion albums which featured a stunning theatrical film type cinematography. This, like its predecessors had a massive budget, approximately reaching $8.5 million.
The over nine-minute-long video for "Estranged" is similar in style to the previous two in the trilogy; however, it appears only loosely to pick up the theme. This is mainly because Axl Rose and then-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour (who played Axl's girlfriend in "Don't Cry" and "November Rain") had broken up prior to filming, making the theme of separation/divorce highly relevant.
The video begins by showing Axl pursued by a group of SWAT team members while hidden in what appeared to be an abandoned mansion. Later, in a flashback, Axl is shown being escorted off that same (presumably marital) property. During this sequence, dictionary definitions for "Estranged" are flashed across the screen suggesting that Axl is going through a separation. Definitions of illusion and disillusion also appear. In the final sequence, Axl goes to an oil tanker, where in the video's climax, he leaps into the water in an apparent suicide attempt but ends up being rescued by a group of bottlenose dolphins. The video is also known for the memorable scene where Slash walks on water while playing a guitar solo. The video contains multiple shots of the Rainbow bar, which is also seen in the music video for "November Rain". The video ends with a note from Axl which says, Lose your Illusions, Love Axl GNR '93.
Estranged
Guns & Roses Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And nobody's home
You can fool yourself
You came in this world alone
(Alone)
So nobody ever told you baby
How it was gonna be
Guess we'll have to wait and see
One, two
Old at heart but I'm only twenty eight
And I'm much too young
To let love break my heart
Young at heart but it's getting much too late
To find ourselves so far apart
I don't know how you're s'posed to find me lately
An what more could you ask from me
How could you say that I never needed you
When you took everything
Said you took everything from me
Young at heart an it gets so hard to wait
When no one I know can seem to help me now
Old at heart but I musn't hesitate
If I'm to find my own way out
Still talkin' to myself
And nobody's home
(Alone)
So nobody ever told us baby
How it was gonna be
So what'll happen to us baby
Guess we'll have to wait and see
When I find out all the reasons
Maybe I'll find another way
Find another day
With all the changing seasons of my life
Maybe I'll get it right next time
An now that you've been broken down
Got your head out of the clouds
You're back down on the ground
And you don't talk so loud
An you don't walk so proud
Any more, and what for
Well I jumped into the river
Too many times to make it home
I'm out here on my own, an drifting all alone
If it doesn't show give it time
To read between the lines
'Cause I see the storm getting closer
And the waves they get so high
Seems everything we've ever known's here
Why must it drift away and die
I'll never find anyone to replace you
Guess I'll have to make it through, this time - oh this time
Without you
I knew the storm was getting closer
And all my friends said I was high
But everything we've ever known's here
I never wanted it to die
The lyrics to Guns & Roses's song "Estranged" touch on themes of loneliness, heartbreak, and the struggles of finding oneself in the midst of it all. The opening lines, "When you're talkin' to yourself / And nobody's home," convey a sense of isolation and introspection. It seems the singer of the song is searching for answers about the nature of love and their place in the world. Throughout the song, we hear the struggle between being "Old at heart but only twenty-eight/And I'm much too young/To let love break my heart" and "Young at heart but it's getting much too late/To find ourselves so far apart."
The lyrics also touch on the idea that sometimes we have to go through difficult experiences and navigate them on our own in order to learn the lessons we need to grow. We hear this in lines like "If it doesn't show give it time/To read between the lines" and "Maybe I'll get it right next time."
Overall, "Estranged" is a deeply introspective song that speaks to the struggles of navigating love, loss, and finding oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
When you're talkin' to yourself
When you are feeling lonely and have nobody around to talk to.
And nobody's home
When your house is empty and no one is there with you.
You can fool yourself
You can deceive yourself by pretending that everything is alright.
You came in this world alone
You were born alone, without anyone by your side.
So nobody ever told you baby
No one ever informed you about the challenges of life, dear.
How it was gonna be
What difficulties you will encounter in your future.
So what'll happen to you baby
What kind of situation you will be into.
Guess we'll have to wait and see
We have to be patient and observe the future events.
Old at heart but I'm only twenty eight
Although I am just twenty-eight years old, I feel like I have lived a long life.
And I'm much too young
I am still young and have to experience a lot in my life.
To let love break my heart
I won't let myself be vulnerable to love and get my heart broken.
Young at heart but it's getting much too late
Although I feel young inside, I realize that it is already too late to fix some aspects of my life.
To find ourselves so far apart
We have drifted apart, and it is challenging to close the gap between us.
I don't know how you're s'posed to find me lately
I am not sure how you can locate me these days.
An what more could you ask from me
What else could you want from me?
How could you say that I never needed you
You can't claim that I never need you in my life.
When you took everything
You have taken away everything from me.
Said you took everything from me
You admitted that you have taken everything that I had.
Young at heart an it gets so hard to wait
Being young at heart can also mean being impatient, and it becomes tough to wait.
When no one I know can seem to help me now
I am in a situation where I do not have anyone around me who can offer help.
Old at heart but I musn't hesitate
Although I feel that I am old at heart, I can't afford to hesitate in my actions.
If I'm to find my own way out
I have to create my path to get out of this challenging situation.
Still talkin' to myself
I am still talking to myself, and no one is there to listen.
So nobody ever told us baby
Nobody ever informed us about the struggles of life.
How it was gonna be
What difficulties we will face in the future.
So what'll happen to us baby
What kind of situation we will be in together.
Guess we'll have to wait and see
We have to be patient and observe the future events together.
When I find out all the reasons
When I discover all the explanations.
Maybe I'll find another way
Perhaps I will discover a different approach.
Find another day
Discover another day to do things right.
With all the changing seasons of my life
With all the transformative times in my life.
Maybe I'll get it right next time
Maybe I will handle things differently and correctly next time.
An now that you've been broken down
Now that you have been hurt.
Got your head out of the clouds
You have come back to reality.
You're back down on the ground
You have come back down and landed on earth.
And you don't talk so loud
You are no longer making a resounding voice.
An you don't walk so proud
You are not walking around with pride anymore.
Any more, and what for
Why do you need that pride anymore?
Well I jumped into the river
I jumped into the river of life.
Too many times to make it home
Countless times that I can't remember, to come back to where I started.
I'm out here on my own, an drifting all alone
I am all by myself and aimlessly drifting.
If it doesn't show give it time
If the signs are not clear, wait for some time until they become evident.
To read between the lines
To understand things that are not explicitly mentioned.
'Cause I see the storm getting closer
I foresee trouble ahead.
And the waves they get so high
I can see that tough times are on the way.
Seems everything we've ever known's here
We have everything we needed, but we might lose it all.
Why must it drift away and die
Why should we let go of it and let it perish?
I'll never find anyone to replace you
I can never find anyone to fill the void created by you.
Guess I'll have to make it through, this time - oh this time
I should try to survive and overcome the challenge this time alone.
Without you
Without your help or support.
And all my friends said I was high
My friends did not understand what I was going through.
I knew the storm was getting closer
I sensed that the problem was imminent.
But everything we've ever known's here
Although we are in danger of losing everything, we still have everything we have ever known.
I never wanted it to die
I never wanted to lose any of it.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: (USA 2) SLASH, IZZY STRADLIN, DUFF MC KAGAN, DARREN A REED, MATT SORUM, W. AXL ROSE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@benjipranker3890
When you're talkin' to yourself
And nobody's home
You can fool yourself
You came in this world alone
(Alone)
So nobody ever told you baby
How it was gonna be
So what'll happen to you baby
Guess we'll have to wait and see
One, two
Old at heart but I'm only twenty eight
And I'm much too young
To let love break my heart
Young at heart but it's getting much too late
To find ourselves so far apart
I don't know how you're s'posed to find me lately
An what more could you ask from me
How could you say that I never needed you
When you took everything
Said you took everything from me
Young at heart an it gets so hard to wait
When no one I know can seem to help me now
Old at heart but I musn't hesitate
If I'm to find my own way out
Still talkin' to myself
And nobody's home
(Alone)
So nobody ever told us baby
How it was gonna be
So what'll happen to us baby
Guess we'll have to wait and see
When I find out all the reasons
Maybe I'll find another way
Find another day
With all the changing seasons of my life
Maybe I'll get it right next time
An now that you've been broken down
Got your head out of the clouds
You're back down on the ground
And you don't talk so loud
An you don't walk so proud
Any more, and what for
Well I jumped into the river
Too many times to make it home
I'm out here on my own, an drifting all alone
If it doesn't show give it time
To read between the lines
'Cause I see the storm getting closer
And the waves they get so high
Seems everything we've ever known's here
Why must it drift away and die
I'll never find anyone to replace you
Guess I'll have to make it through, this time - oh this time
Without you
I knew the storm was getting closer
And all my friends said I was high
But everything we've ever known's here
I never wanted it to die
@v4mp.sky7
Anyone in 2024?
@sandramilena2313
Yo en este preciso instante 😅😂
@arfiantok9704
Yo😂
@user-sv4es4sn4q
hi
@HaroldScottTuttlealsoknownasLi
Yeah,hey!
@darisgonzales2056
Shout out po Mar 16 🇵🇷😳👍🏆♥️💲💸🌷🌷🌷
@merloalex
"When you're talking to yourself and nobody's home..." 🙏🏻 a GENIUS!!!!!!!!!
@cinderellsworth
..."a-lone"... Axl IS a genius song writer....................!
@cinderellsworth
Riley Rose Actually, so do I. lol (laughing alone, too!)
@merloalex
Better laughing 😀 but only people hurted by life are able ti know and understand; pain makes you think.
"You can fool yourself...you came in this world alone...alone".
For Axl has always been hard to think to his childhood, better for him figuring he came in this world alone; that made him feeling empty deep inside.
This song and Coma are masterpieces; at the same time, it's sad to know that he lived those moments, those feelings, but the reaction has been defenetely great!!!!!