Sweet Child o 'Mine
| Sweet Child o 'Mine | |
|---|---|
| Guns N 'Roses | |
| publication | August 17, 1988 May 1989 (secondary release in UK) |
| length | 4:12 (radio edit), 5:56 (album version) |
| Genre (s) | Hard rock |
| Author (s) | Duff McKagan , Slash , Steven Adler , Izzy Stradlin , Axl Rose |
| album | Appetite for Destruction |
Sweet Child o 'Mine is a song by the US hard rock band Guns N' Roses and their third single as well as the third from their 1987 debut album Appetite for Destruction The single was released on August 17, 1988 and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It became the band's first and only number-one single in the United States. In the UK , the song reached number six.
background
Guitarist Slash originally didn't think much of the song, which had resulted from a not at all serious string exercise and a spontaneous jam session . While drummer Steven Adler and Slash warmed up, Slash played a kind of "circus melody" on guitar. The second guitarist Izzy Stradlin heard this and asked Slash to play the melody again. Axl Rose heard this in the next room and had a spontaneous text idea.
The song is about Rose's then girlfriend Erin Everly, whom he married in 1990. Originally there was also a third verse, but this was left out on the advice of then producer Mike Clink , as he found the song too long. Clink also came up with the idea for the final part of the song, when Rose said to herself: “Where do we go? Where do we go now? " Clink suggested that Rose sing this. In an interview with Hit Parader magazine (March 1988), bassist Duff McKagan said:
“The thing about Sweet Child o 'Mine , it was written in five minutes. It was one of those songs, only three chords. You know that guitar lick Slash does at the beginning? It was kind a like a joke because we thought, 'What is this song? It's gonna be nothing, it'll be filler on the record. ' And except that vocal-wise, it's very sweet and sincere, Slash was just messing around when he first wrote that lick.
The thing about "Sweet Child o 'Mine" is that it was written in five minutes. It's one of those songs that only have three chords. Do you know about the guitar lick at the beginning? It was just kind of a joke because we thought, 'What kind of song is this? It won't be anything, just a gap filler on the album. ' Aside from the singing, which is very nice and honest, Slash was just messing around when the song was first written. "
Music video
The video for Sweet Child o 'Mine , which was very successful on MTV, shows the band rehearsing in an abandoned theater in Huntington Park , surrounded by crew members and the band members' girlfriends at the time. Izzy Stradlin's dog can also be seen.
In order to better market the song, it was shortened from 5:56 minutes on the album to a 4:12 minute long radio version, with parts of Slash's guitar solo being omitted. Axl Rose said in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1989 that he disliked this version because he considered the solo to be the best part of the song. In 2006, Rose said in a radio interview that the video originally had a different concept, which was about substance abuse. Geffen Records rejected this.
There is a second version of the video with additional black and white settings.
The video won the "Best Heavy Metal Video" award at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards .
It is the first music video from the eighties that had more than a billion views on YouTube .
reception
The solo by Sweet Child o 'Mine reached number 37 on Guitar World magazine's list of 100 best guitar solos . The magazine Blender chose the song at number three of the "500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born", Rolling Stone put it at number 196 of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2005, Q magazine placed it sixth on its list of "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks". Total Guitar magazine readers voted the intro riff number one among the best riffs of all time. The song also reached number seven of the "100 Best Songs of the 80s" on the VH-1 station and number 210 on the RIAA's "Songs of the Century" list . The song was also voted the “greatest guitar riff ever” in a BBC poll.
Re-use
In the television series NCIS the song could be heard in the episode "Witch Hunt", as well as in the credits of the 1988 film Bad Dreams .
Sweet Child o 'Mine can also be heard in the 2008 film The Wrestler , where it can be heard when the wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson ( Mickey Rourke ) enters the ring. The song was used for his friend Rourke with permission from Axl Rose. Rourke used the song himself as an anthem during his boxing career.
In 2008 it was sung in an a capella version in the film Step Brothers . You can also hear him in the film State of Grace with Sean Penn and excerpts in Big Daddy ( Adam Sandler ). A version was also sung by Lucie Jones on the sixth season of The X Factor in 2009.
In 2010 the song was in the film Gulliver's Travels - Something big is coming up to be heard with Jack Black .
The football club Barnet FC used the song as an anthem for their home games.
At the end of the film This is how life plays , the song is also used in an acoustic version.
In the movie Captain Fantastic , the song is played in a slow variation by the actors themselves in a key scene. The lyrics of the song support the story of the film.
Against the will of the band, the Republican Party under Donald Trump used this song in the election campaign for the midterm elections in 2018. The band in turn called for the election of the Democratic Party.
Cover versions
1999 Sweet Child o 'Mine was covered by Sheryl Crow and as a revival with then Guns-N'-Roses members for the movie Big Daddy . Crow's version received a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance . The new Guns-n'-Roses version was not included on the film's soundtrack, but can be heard during the film's credits. This version also appeared in the movie State of Grace during a pub brawl.
The song has also been covered by many other artists including Texas , Most Precious Blood , Akasha featuring Neneh Cherry , DJ Dougall, Schmoof, Flat Pack, Luna , Chester the Pup, Bumblefoot , Dead Tongues, DJ Dex & A, The Aluminum Group and DZK. It was played live by country singer Carrie Underwood , with an acoustic intro and then a full version. Bonnie Tyler sang the song on a charity DVD called Rock for Asia in 2005. There was a cover of Flatpack / Mylo that same year .
Linkin Park play the song at concerts for fun. For example, they mixed their own track Bleed It Out with Sweet Child o 'Mine . The Manic Street Preachers also played the song as the intro of their song Motown Junk . The main riff is also played by the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the end of the Punk Rock Classic track . Avenged Sevenfold regularly use the opening riff at their concerts. The jam band Umphrey's McGee played the piece live in New York in 2006 . The Black Eyed Peas also played the first verse live. Turbonegro use the introlick for their song Bad Mongo . The song Axl Rose by the punk rock band SR-71 contains parts of the opening riff. The Welsh band Lostprophets played the first verse in her piece Where We Belong at the "BBC Radio One Big Weekend 2010". They also play the verse live in their track Last Summer . A bonus version is included in the Guitar Hero II video game .
Slash played Sweet Child o 'Mine with Fergie on his 43rd birthday in Las Vegas in 2008 and during Super Bowl XLV halftime (2011). Live Axl Rose sometimes used other rock classics as an intro for Sweet Child o 'Mine .
In 2009 a cover version of Taken by Trees was used in the advertising of the British department store chain John Lewis and then reached number 23 as a single in the UK charts.
Milk Inc. released a successful cover version in their home country of Belgium in 2013.
Chart placements
| Charts (1988) | Highest position |
|---|---|
| Austrian single charts | 11 |
| Swiss single charts | 15th |
| British single charts | 24 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| Charts (1989) | Highest position |
| British single charts | 6th |
Web links
swell
- ↑ release date
- ↑ 2. release date
- ^ Artist Chart History - Guns N 'Roses . Billboard . Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
- ↑ a b c d Sweet Child o 'Mine in the UK charts
- ↑ a b Guns n 'Roses - Meaning Behind Songs ( Memento from November 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Guns N 'Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine 'Becomes First' 80s Music Video to Hit 1 Billion YouTube Views Variety.com , Oct. 15, 2019
- ↑ The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1-500) ( Memento from June 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Guns N 'Roses top rock riff poll . In: BBC News , May 2, 2004. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
- ^ The Wrestler Director Darren Aronofsky on Mickey Rourke and the Benefits of Having a Small Music Budget . New York Magazine
- ↑ Axl Rose on Twitter , Nov. 4, 2018
- ↑ Axl Rose goes for Donald Trump SPIEGEL ONLINE, Nov. 4, 2018
- ↑ a b Guns n 'Roses - Sweet Child o' Mine (Song) . In: australian-charts.com . Retrieved on 2010-02-29.
- ↑ Sweet Child o 'Mine on the Billboard Hot 100