The band has released six studio albums: Appetite For Destruction in 1987, G N' R Lies in 1988, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II in 1991, "The Spaghetti Incident?" in 1993 and, after 15 years and with frontman Axl Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed being the only members left from the previous lineup, Chinese Democracy in 2008. They also released three EP's in 1986, 1988, and 1993 and two live albums, in 1999 and 2014.
The group was formed in early 1985 by Hollywood Rose members Axl Rose (vocals) and Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitar) and L.A. Guns members Tracii Guns (lead guitar), Ole Beich (bass) and Rob Gardner (drums). The band created its name by combining two of the members' names. Rejected names were "Heads of Amazon" and "AIDS." A short time later, Beich was fired and replaced by Duff McKagan, and Guns was replaced by Slash after not showing up to rehearsal. Slash had played with McKagan in Road Crew and with Stradlin during a short stint in Hollywood Rose. On their first tour (from Sacramento, California to Duff's home town of Seattle), Gardner quit and was replaced by Slash's friend, Steven Adler.
Stemming from the LA rock underground, the ugly lyrics matched the sleaze of the music--driven by heavy blues licks--covering misogyny, violence, city life, sex, liquor, and hard drugs. They also, however, tended to show sensitivity and a desire to break free from the city. Subsequent albums revealed influence from bands in the vein of The Rolling Stones and Queen.
Their 1987 breakthrough, Appetite for Destruction, (18-times platinum and the highest-selling debut album of all-time), coupled with the success of the hit single "Sweet Child O' Mine" in 1988, took the world by storm. "Appetite" was full of raunchy hard rock with blistering, anthemic guitar riffs and snarling vocals.
The followup EP, "G N' R Lies", contained four songs from their debut EP, three new acoustic songs, and an acoustic version of "You're Crazy". The album sold well and got into the top 10 alongside Appetite. By the end of the 1980s, they were one of the most popular bands in the world.
Steven Adler (original drummer) was kicked out of the band due to his drug abuse and replaced by Matt Sorum.
Following the release of G N' R Lies, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II made history by making the number 1 and 2 spots on the American Billboard Album chart. The albums were filled with songs that pushed Guns into a different direction, far from the Appetite era. They surprised critics who expected hard rock songs but found more "epic" tracks featuring a wider range of instruments (pianos, brass instruments, various effects, etc). The main response was that instead of releasing two albums that included "filler tracks", they could have released one CD.
The band then started a world tour to support the albums. During this tour, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin quit the band due to differences with Slash, Sorum and McKagan due to his newfound sobriety and Stradlin's anger at Rose's management of the band.
They played 192 shows in the 28-month tour, which set attendance records and concluded with a show in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 17, 1993. This show marked the last time original members Slash and McKagan and newcomers Clarke and Sorum would play a live show with Rose.
Axl began work on a new album of original material in 1993. In 1994, Gilby Clarke left the band, and was replaced with Paul Tobias. That same year, the band recorded a cover version of The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" for the movie Interview with the Vampire. According to Slash's 2007 autobiography, the first version of guitar track was rejected by Axl, who wanted Slash to copy Keith Richards' playing on the original. Reluctantly, Slash agreed and recorded another version closer to the original. Slash was further infuriated when he discovered Tobias' guitar copying his own solo note by note layered in the final mix of the song. This would be the last recording by the original version of the band, and five years would go by before any new material came out under the Guns N' Roses name.
Slash drifted in and out of the band for the next couple of years, beginning a side project called Slash's Snakepit. In August 1996, GN'R returned to the studio, even though McKagan and Sorum were simultaneously touring with their side project, Neurotic Outsiders. Eventually, only Slash and Rose were left to continue working. During this period, Slash commented in an interview, "My relationship with Axl right now is sort of at a standstill." Additionally, Axl had approached guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society) about jamming and possibly joining Guns N' Roses.
In 1996 and 1997, Slash, Sorum and McKagan all left the band, leaving Rose as the only remaining charter member of the band. The three later formed rock supergroup Velvet Revolver with former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland and guitarist Dave Kushner.
In 1998, a "clean" (i.e., profanity removed) version of Use Your Illusion was released (in the USA only), mainly so the album could be sold in Wal-Mart and K-Mart stores. The album, titled "Use Your Illusion" was a 1 CD compilation of the 2 albums.
Also in 1998, Axl put a new version of the band together and returned to the studio. This version of the band has been touring and recording sporadically ever since. The new band's membership has changed frequently, but its core members have included guitarist Robin Finck, effects man Chris Pitman, bassist Tommy Stinson (formerly of The Replacements)— as well as Paul Tobias, drummer Josh Freese and longtime GN'R keyboardist Dizzy Reed.
In 1999, the band released one new song, "Oh My God", on the soundtrack of the film End of Days. The track featured additional guitar work by [arist]Dave Navarro and Gary Sunshine, Rose's personal guitar teacher. The song's release was intended to be a prelude to their new album, now officially entitled Chinese Democracy. Geffen also released Live Era '87-'93, a collection of live performances from various concerts during the Appetite for Destruction and Use Your Illusion tours. Also in 1999, during an interview with Kurt Loder for MTV, Axl said that he had re-recorded Appetite for Destruction with the new band, replacing two songs with "Patience" and "You Could Be Mine".
In 1999, guitarist Robin Finck departed the band in order to rejoin his former band, Nine Inch Nails, on tour. In 2000, virtuoso guitarist Buckethead joined Guns N' Roses as a replacement for Finck. Josh Freese was replaced with Bryan "Brain" Mantia (formerly of Primus). Robin Finck returned to Guns N' Roses in late 2000 to complement Buckethead on lead guitar.
The revised lineup finally made a public appearance in January 2001 with two well-received concerts, one in Las Vegas and one at the Rock in Rio Festival in Rio de Janeiro. The band played a mixture of old hits and new songs from their forthcoming album.
The new lineup played a further two shows in Las Vegas at the end of 2001. In 2002, rhythm guitarist Paul Tobias left the band because of his frustrations with life on the road. He was replaced by Richard Fortus (formerly of The Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love). The band then played several shows in August 2002, headlining festivals and concerts throughout Asia and Europe. They made their way to New York for a surprise appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.
In 2002, the band's first North American tour since 1993 was organized to support Chinese Democracy. However, the opening show in Vancouver was canceled by the venue when Rose arrived late due to his plane being held up by bad weather conditions at Los Angeles airport. A riot ensued. This tour was met with mixed results. Some concerts did not sell well, while shows in larger markets such as New York sold out in minutes. Due to a second riot by fans in Philadelphia, tour promoter Clear Channel canceled the remainder of the tour.
The band went on hiatus until they were scheduled to play at Rock in Rio IV in May 2004. However, Buckethead left the band in March of that year, causing them to cancel. Also in March 2004, Geffen released Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits, since Rose had failed to deliver a new studio album in more than 10 years. Rose expressed displeasure with this album as its track listing was established without his consent and went as far as trying to block its release by suing Geffen. This failed, however, and the album went triple platinum in the USA.
In February 2006, demos of the songs "Better", "Catcher in the Rye", "I.R.S." and "There Was a Time" were leaked through a fan site. The band's management requested that all links to the MP3 files and all lyrics to the songs be removed from forums and web sites. Despite this, radio stations began adding "I.R.S." to playlists, and the song reached #49 on the Radio & Records Active Rock National Airplay chart in the final week of February - the first time an internet leak had done so.
On May 5, 2006, Axl appeared on the Friday Night Rocks with Eddie Trunk radio show (during an interview with ex-Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach) and said the new Guns N' Roses album would be released before the end of the year. Later in May, the band launched a European tour, headlining both the Download Festival and Rock In Rio - Lisbon. Four warm-up shows preceded the tour at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City and became the band's first live concert dates since the aborted 2002 tour. The shows also marked the debut of virtuoso guitarist and composer Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, replacing Buckethead. During the tour, Bach and Izzy Stradlin made frequent guest appearances. By the tour's end in 2007, the band had played to over 750 000 people in over 23 countries.
On April 5, 2008, a picture of Finck appeared on Nine Inch Nails web page under the title "Welcome Back!" starting the rumor of his possible reunion with Trent Reznor. On April 11, Finck expressed his happiness on playing again with NIN. On April 20, on Guns N' Roses' web site, Axl expressed surprise about the news.
Chinese Democracy had been given the tentative release date of March 6, then reported September 17, 2007. However, both dates passed with no sign of the album. After further release dates were discussed, the album finally came out on November 23, 2008, to mostly positive critical reviews & underselling industry expectations.
Slash, McKagan and Sorum still played together in Velvet Revolver. However, Izzy Stradlin, original GN'R rhythm guitarist and co-composer of many of the band's most successful songs, has not joined them. He did, however, play a few dates as a guest with GN'R in the summer of 2006. Keyboard player Dizzy Reed, while not a founding member of the band (joining in 1990 in the Use Your Illusion period), remained in the previous lineup. in 2014, Bassist Tommy Stinson had previous commitments to The Replacements, leading former bassist Duff McKagan to fill in. After the 2014 tour, bassist Tommy Stinson, guitarists DJ Ashba & Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, and keyboardist Chris Pitman all left the band.
Slash and McKagan rejoined in 2016, as did keyboardist Melissa Reese, as the group embarked on the "Not in This Lifetime..." stadium tour. The tour also featured several guest appearances, including from former drummer Steven Adler, AC/DC guitarist Angus Young, former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach, and Rose Tattoo singer Angry Anderson. The tour was a massive success, becoming the third highest grossing concert tour of all-time by its end in 2019.
The band continued with the Guns N’ Roses 2020 Tour and in 2021 released two new singles “Absurd” and “Hard Skool”, both reworkings of ‘’Chinese Democracy’’ era tracks. The singles are the first songs released featuring Slash and Duff McKagan since 1994.
GN'R's current lineup includes Rose (lead vocals), McKagan (bass), Fortus (rhythm guitar), Slash (lead guitar), Melissa Reese[/bandember] (synth & programming), Frank Ferrer (drums) and Reed (keyboard and percussion).
Discography
Appetite for Destruction (1987) #1 US Billboard, 18x Platinum
G N' R Lies (1988) #2 US Billboard, 5x Platinum
Use Your Illusion I (1991) #2 US Billboard, 7x Platinum
Use Your Illusion II (1991) #1 US Billboard, 7x Platinum
The Spaghetti Incident? (1993) #4 US Billboard, Platinum
Live Era '87-'93 (1999) #45 US Billboard, Gold
Greatest Hits (2004) #3 US Billboard, 3x Platinum
Chinese Democracy (2008) #3 US Billboard, Platinum
The above figures represent US sales only and do not constitute worldwide figures, which are much higher.
Breakdown
Guns N' Roses Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We come down from the wire
An everybody warms themselves
To a different fire
When sometimes we get burned
You'd think sometime we'd learn
The one you love is the one
That should take you higher
You better go back out and find her
Just like children hidin' in a closet
Can't tell what's goin' on outside
Sometimes we're so far off the beaten track
We'll get taken for a ride
By a parlor trick or some words of wit
A hidden hand up a sleeve
To think the one you love
Could hurt you now
Is a little hard to believe
But everybody darlin' sometimes
Bites the hand that feeds
When I look around
Everybody always brings me down
Well is it them or me
Well I just can't see
But there ain't no peace to found
But if someone really cared
Well they'd take the time to spare
A moment to try and understand
Another one's despair
Remember in this game we call life
That no one said it's fair
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Yeah
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Get down with yo' bad self
Alright
I've come to know the cold
I think of it as home
When there ain't enough of me
To go around
I'd rather be left alone
But if I call you out of habit
I'm out of love and I gotta have it
Would you give it to me
If I fit you needs
Like when we both knew we had it
But now the damage's done
And we're back out on the run
Fun how ev'rything was roses
When we held on to the guns
Just because you're winnin'
Don't mean you're the lucky ones
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Breakdown
Yeah
Breakdown
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
There goes the Challenger being chased
By the blue blue meanies on wheels
The vicious traffic squad cars are
After our lone driver
The last American hero
The the electric sitar
The demi-god
The super driver of the golden west!
Two nasty nazi cars are close behind
The beautiful lone driver
The police cars are getting closer-closer
Closer to our soul hero in his soul mobile yeah baby!
They about to strike, they gonna get him, smash! rape!
The last beautiful free soul on this planet
But it is written if the evil spirit
Arms the tiger with claws
Brahman provided wings for the dove
Thus spake the super guru"
"Did you hear that"
In the opening verse of Guns N' Roses’s song Breakdown, there's a hint of hopelessness and vulnerability. The lyrics suggest that everyone is just trying to keep themselves warm and comfortable by their own fire, but sometimes they get burned as a result. They should have learned by now that the one they love is the one that should take them higher, but that's not always the case. The next verse compares us to children hiding in a closet who have no idea what's happening outside. Sometimes, life takes people far down the path least travelled, putting them in situations where they are taken advantage of by cons or sweet talkers. Lastly, the song calls for a breakdown or moment of realization, when people start to see that no one said life would be fair or easy.
In conclusion, Axl Rose's lyrics in Breakdown are all about breaking down the illusions people hold onto, in order to see reality much more clearly. Love isn't always what it seems, life isn't fair, we all make mistakes, and sometimes its very hard to believe, but the only way forward is to face the cold reality rather than hide behind falsehoods.
Line by Line Meaning
We all come in from the cold
We all face hardships and difficult times
We come down from the wire
We come down from tense situations where we needed to take risks
An everybody warms themselves
People seek comfort and solace through their own means
To a different fire
People have various things that bring them happiness
When sometimes we get burned
Sometimes, in the pursuit of happiness, we are hurt
You'd think sometime we'd learn
We would think that we learn from our experiences, but sometimes, we don't
The one you love is the one
The person you love is the one
That should take you higher
That should bring you joy, comfort, and provide support
You ain't got no one
You are alone, without anyone who truly cares
You better go back out and find her
You should try to find someone who cares
Just like children hidin' in a closet
Just like children hiding in the dark, sometimes we can't see what's happening around us
Can't tell what's goin' on outside
We can't fully understand what's happening around us
Sometimes we're so far off the beaten track
Sometimes we are lost and don't know where we're heading
We'll get taken for a ride
We may be misled by others who are deceptive
By a parlor trick or some words of wit
We may be fooled by clever talk or tricks
A hidden hand up a sleeve
A hidden motive or agenda
To think the one you love
To think that the person you love
Could hurt you now
Could cause you pain, sadness or misery
Is a little hard to believe
It's difficult to believe that someone you love could cause you pain
But everybody darlin' sometimes
But everyone, my dear, sometimes
Bites the hand that feeds
Is ungrateful and harms the person who provides for them
When I look around
When I look at my surroundings
Everybody always brings me down
Everyone in my environment makes me feel unhappy
Well is it them or me
Is it because of them or is it me?
Well I just can't see
I can't figure out what the problem is
But there ain't no peace to found
There is currently no peace amidst this troubled situation
But if someone really cared
If someone really cared for me
Well they'd take the time to spare
They would take the time to listen and understand
A moment to try and understand
A moment to empathize and learn
Another one's despair
Another person's sadness and distress
Remember in this game we call life
We should remember that this life is a game
That no one said it's fair
No one promised that life would be fair
Breakdown
A moment of emotional breakdown
Let me hear it now
Expressing the need to hear one's own feelings
Get down with yo' bad self
Embracing oneself fully
I've come to know the cold
I've come to know difficult and painful situations
I think of it as home
I've gotten used to these situations
When there ain't enough of me
When I have given all I can
To go around
To satisfy everyone's needs
I'd rather be left alone
I'd rather be alone than to continue giving beyond what I can bear
But if I call you out of habit
But if I reach out to you without truly needing you
I'm out of love and I gotta have it
It means that I'm lonely and need someone to be with
Would you give it to me
Would you give me the love and attention that I need?
If I fit you needs
If I satisfy all your needs
Like when we both knew we had it
Like when we were both satisfied and happy
But now the damage's done
But now, we're hurt and things have changed
And we're back out on the run
And we're both alone again
Fun how ev'rything was roses
It's ironic how everything was good and happy before
When we held on to the guns
When we were holding on to the things that made us strong and happy before
Just because you're winnin'
Just because you're successful
Don't mean you're the lucky ones
Doesn't mean that you'll always be happy and lucky
There goes the Challenger being chased
The Challenger is being pursued by danger
By the blue blue meanies on wheels
By wicked and evil people
The vicious traffic squad cars are
The police are closing in
After our lone driver
Going after one person
The last American hero
The last brave American
The the electric sitar
The unique style of music that he plays
The demi-god
The hero in this situation
The super driver of the golden west!
The great driver with the skill and courage to escape danger
Two nasty nazi cars are close behind
Two evil and wicked cars are close to him
The beautiful lone driver
The brave and handsome driver, alone in this perilous situation
The police cars are getting closer-closer
The police are closing in fast
Closer to our soul hero in his soul mobile yeah baby!
Closer to the brave hero in his car, painted with his soul's expression
They about to strike, they gonna get him, smash! rape!
They are willing to use violence and force
The last beautiful free soul on this planet
The hero is a metaphor for the last free spirited and enlightened soul on earth
But it is written if the evil spirit
It is foretold that wickedness
Arms the tiger with claws
Gives tigers the power to harm
Brahman provided wings for the dove
God gave the dove wings, meaning peace and peace-loving people are protected
Thus spake the super guru"
The wise guru speaks
"Did you hear that"
The artist is asking if the listener heard the wise guru's message
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DUFF ROSE MCKAGAN, IZZY STRADLIN, SAUL HUDSON, W. AXL ROSE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@carloseap
We all come in from the cold
We come down from the wire
An everybody warms themselves
To a different fire
When sometimes we get burned
You'd think sometime we'd learn
The one you love is the one
That should take you higher
You ain't got no one
You better go back out and find her
Just like children hidin' in a closet
Can't tell what's goin' on outside
Sometimes we're so far off the beaten track
We'll get taken for a ride
By a parlor trick or some words of wit
A hidden hand up a sleeve
To think the one you love
Could hurt you now
Is a little hard to believe
But everybody darlin' sometimes
Bites the hand that feeds
When I look around
Everybody always brings me down
Well is it them or me
Well I just can't see
But there ain't no peace to found
But if someone really cared
Well they'd take the time to spare
A moment to try and understand
Another one's despair
Remember in this game we call life
That no one said it's fair
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Yeah
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Get down with yo' bad self
Alright
I've come to know the cold
I think of it as home
When there ain't enough of me
To go around
I'd rather be left alone
But if I call you out of habit
I'm out of love and I gotta have it
Would you give it to me
If I fit you needs
Like when we both knew we had it
But now the damage's done
And we're back out on the run
Fun how ev'rything was roses
When we held on to the guns
Just because you're winnin'
Don't mean you're the lucky ones
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
Breakdown
Yeah
Breakdown
Breakdown
Let me hear it now
There goes the Challenger being chased
By the blue blue meanies on wheels
The vicious traffic squad cars are
After our lone driver
The last American hero
The the electric sitar
The demi-god
The super driver of the golden west!
Two nasty nazi cars are close behind
The beautiful lone driver
The police cars are getting closer-closer
Closer to our soul hero in his soul mobile yeah baby!
They about to strike, they gonna get him, smash! rape!
The last beautiful free soul on this planet
But it is written if the evil spirit
Arms the tiger with claws
Brahman provided wings for the dove
Thus spake the super guru"
"Did you hear that"
@Spooky_D
Axl is an amazing lyricist
I've come to know the cold
I think of it as home
When there ain't enough of me
To go around
I'd rather be left alone
But if I call you out of habit
I'm out of love and I gotta have it
Would you give it to me
If I fit your needs
Like when we both knew we had it
But now the damage's done
And we're back out on the run
Funny how everything was roses
When we held on to the guns
Just because you're winnin'
Don't mean you're the lucky one
@justinf1751
“Just because you’re winning, don’t mean you’re the lucky one.” Love that :)
@beakyturf6336
funny how every thing was roses when we held on to our guns.....
@jesusrosales9153
@Beaky Turf best phrase in the song
@sandrafunny957
So true
@sandrafunny957
Tell that to Charlie Sheen
@str8jaket654
@SandraFunny WINNING 😂
@davekloss4884
Two iconic rock masterpieces. As long as we talk about rock music, we will ALWAYS talk about these two albums.
@kevinperkins8397
At least 2
@JonRiceBeard
One of the best guns n roses songs!!! Still coming back to listen 30 years later
@MgoUmk
easilly best underrated gnr song