Although it was released as a single, the song was not included in their best-of album. It reached #93 on the US Billboard charts.
The song is a tribute to an infamous brand of cheap Californian wine, Night Train Express, which was extremely popular with the band during their early days because of its low price and high alcohol content. The song was ranked eighth on Guitar World's list of the "Top 10 Drinking Songs."
Slash describes Nightrain as "an anthem that we came up with on the spot". The original idea for the song came when Slash and Izzy Stradlin wrote the main riff while they were sitting on the floor of the band's practice room. The next day, Slash was ill so Stradlin finished writing the music with Duff McKagan; however they did not write any lyrics. Also Duff McKagan played a Gibson Thunderbird Bass on this song only; on all of the other songs for Appetite for Destruction he played a Fender Precision Bass. The song remained incomplete until one night when the band was walking down Palm Avenue sharing a bottle of Night Train. Someone yelled 'I'm on the night train!' and the whole band joined in, with Axl Rose improvising the lines in between: "Bottoms up!" "Fill my cup!" etc. "Nightrain" was born. After this initial inspiration, the band finished the song within a day.
The first half of the first guitar solo and the lead intro is played by Izzy Stradlin, while all other lead guitar parts are played by Slash.
Night Train
Guns N' Roses Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Flyin' like an aeroplane
Feelin' like a space brain
One more time tonight, lookout
Well I'm a west coast struttin'
One bad mother
Under my arm
Said I'm a mean machine
Been drinkin' gasoline
An' honey you can make my motor hum
Well, I got one chance left
In a nine life cat
I got a dog eat dog sly smile
I got a Molotov cocktail with a match to go
I smoke my cigarette with style
An' I can tell you honey
You can make my money tonight
Wake up late, honey put on your clothes
Take your credit card to the liquor store
Well, that's one for you and two for me by tonight
I'll be loaded like a freight train
Flyin' like an aeroplane
Feelin' like a space brain
One more time tonight
I'm on the nightrain
Bottoms up
I'm on the nightrain
Fill my cup
I'm on the nightrain
Ready to crash and burn
I never learn
I'm on the nightrain
I love that stuff
I'm on the nightrain
And I can never get enough
I'm on the nightrain
Never to return, no
Loaded like a freight train
Flyin' like an aeroplane
Speedin' like a space brain
One more tonight
I'm on the nightrain
An' I'm lookin' for some
I'm on the nightrain
So's I can leave this slum
I'm on the nightrain
And I'm ready to crash and burn
Nightrain
Bottoms up
I'm on the nightrain
Fill my cup
I'm on the nightrain
Uh, uh, uh, oh yeah
I'm on the nightrain
Love that stuff
I'm on the nightrain
An I can never get enough
Ridin' the nightrain
I guess I
I guess, I guess, I guess I never learn
On the Nightrain
Float me home
Ooh, I'm on the nightrain
Ridin' the nightrain
Never to return
Nightrain
The song "Night Train" by Guns N' Roses is a song about living life on the edge and taking risks. It talks about being loaded like a freight train, flying like an airplane, and feeling like a space brain. One more time tonight. The lyrics continue with a description of the singer as a west coast struttin' bad mother with a rattlesnake suitcase, drinking gasoline and looking for a good time with the right girl. The singer is ready to take any risk when he says he's got a Molotov cocktail with a match to go and smoke his cigarette with style.
In the chorus, the singer goes on a metaphorical journey on the nightrain, where he can never get enough of the good stuff. He's ready to crash and burn, but he never learns from his mistakes. The lyrics continue to describe the singer as being on the nightrain, looking for some fun, and ready to crash and burn. The song concludes with the singer riding the nightrain, never to return.
The song's lyrics capture the rebellious spirit of the rock 'n' roll culture in the late 80s and early 90s. The use of metaphors like "loaded like a freight train" and "flying like an aeroplane" was common in rock music of the time. These metaphors were used to create a sense of freedom and danger.
Line by Line Meaning
Loaded like a freight train
I'm feeling heavily intoxicated, like a freight train loaded with cargo
Flyin' like an aeroplane
I'm moving so quickly and recklessly, it's like I'm flying in an airplane
Feelin' like a space brain
My thoughts are so hazy and disconnected, it's like I'm operating on a different level of consciousness
One more time tonight, lookout
I'm about to do something reckless or dangerous one more time tonight, and I need to watch out
Well I'm a west coast struttin'
I'm walking around with confidence and swagger, like someone from the West Coast of the US
One bad mother
I'm a tough, formidable person
Got a rattlesnake suitcase
I'm carrying around something dangerous or sinister, like a suitcase full of rattlesnakes
Under my arm
I'm holding onto this dangerous thing, ready to use it if necessary
Said I'm a mean machine
I'm a tough, ruthless person who doesn't back down
Been drinkin' gasoline
I've been drinking alcohol so heavily that it's like I'm putting gasoline in my body
An' honey you can make my motor hum
I'm looking for a sexual partner to satisfy me
Well, I got one chance left
I'm running out of opportunities or options
In a nine life cat
like a cat with nine lives, I'm living dangerously and taking big risks
I got a dog eat dog sly smile
I have a cunning, ruthless smile that implies I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to get ahead
I got a Molotov cocktail with a match to go
I have an explosive weapon ready to use if necessary
I smoke my cigarette with style
I'm living my life with flair and panache, even when it comes to smoking cigarettes
An' I can tell you honey
I'm addressing someone I'm interested in romantically
You can make my money tonight
If you sleep with me or do what I want, I'll pay you money
Wake up late, honey put on your clothes
I'm telling someone to get ready to leave with me
Take your credit card to the liquor store
I need them to bring their credit card so we can buy alcohol
Well, that's one for you and two for me by tonight
We'll buy one bottle for them and two bottles for me, to drink heavily tonight
I'm on the nightrain
I'm drinking heavily and living recklessly, like riding a train through the night
Bottoms up
I'm encouraging everyone to drink up
Fill my cup
I want someone to pour more alcohol into my cup
Ready to crash and burn
I'm going to keep doing this destructive behavior until I hit rock bottom
I never learn
I keep making the same mistakes over and over
And I'm lookin' for some
I'm looking for someone to have sex or do other things with
So's I can leave this slum
I'm looking for someone to escape this depressing, dead-end life with
Ridin' the nightrain
I'm continuing the reckless, destructive behavior
Never to return
I'm afraid that once I start living this way, I won't be able to go back to living a normal life
Float me home
I'm too drunk or high to walk home, and need someone to carry me
Ooh, I'm on the nightrain
I'm still living recklessly and continuing to seek out dangerous situations
Contributed by Hannah W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Monicx
on Sweet Child o' Mine
Guns N' Roses sind eine großartige Band. Ich frage mich, wie Sweet Child o' Mine live klingen wird. Ich habe gerade Tickets für ihr Konzert in Deutschland auf https://www.timeforgig.com/de/guns-n-roses/artists/0mjrv gekauft.