The Doors - Spanish Caravan

Spanish Caravan Lyric

Carry me Caravan, take me away
Take me to Portugal, take me to Spain
Andalusia with fields full of grain
I have to see you again and again
Take me, Spanish Caravan
Yes, I know you can
Trade winds find Galleons lost in the sea
I know where treasure is waiting for me
Silver and gold in the mountains of Spain
I have to see you again and again
Take me, Spanish Caravan
Yes, I know you can

Song Note : "Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger wrote this"

"The intro riff was taken from "Asturias," a Classical piece by Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz "

"Krieger played his guitar in a flamenco style. Some parts were processed through a fuzz box"

"Andalusia," which is referred to in the first verse, is the Southernmost area of Spain. It was repeatedly conquered by various groups until it was divided into 8 provinces in 1833

The Doors - Unknown Soldier

Unknown Soldier Lyric

Wait until the war is over
And we're both a little older
The unknown soldier

Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmet's head

And it's all over
For the unknown soldier
It's all over
For the unknown soldier

Hut Hut Hut ho hee up
Hut Hut Hut ho hee up
Hut Hut Hut ho hee up
Comp'nee Halt
Preeee-zent! Arms!

Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder
The unknown soldier

Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Bullet strikes the helmet's head

And, it's all over
The war is over It's all over
The war is over
Well, all over, baby All over, baby
Oh, over, yeah All over, baby
Wooooo, hah-hah
All over All over, baby
Oh, whoa-yeah All over All over
Heeeeyyyy

Song Notes : "This is an antiwar song, but not specifically about the Vietnam War, which was going on at the time"

"The Doors took over 130 takes to record this. Producer Paul Rothchild was being very particular"

"Many radio stations refused to play this due to its controversial content"

"The Doors developed this when they were on tour in 1967"

"Some of the sounds in this include military drums, commands, and a firing squad. The firing squad was reproduced on stage with Krieger pointing his guitar at Morrison like a rifle, Densmore dropping a reverb unit to make a loud pop, and Morrison dropping as if he was shot. In the studio, the gunshot sound was a rimshot played by John Densmore on the snare drum"

The Doors - Touch Me

Touch Me Lyric

Come on, come on, come on, come on now
Touch me babe
Can't you see that I am not afraid?
What was that promise that you made?
Why won't you tell me what she said?
What was that promise that she made?

Now
I'm gonna love you
Till the heaven stops the rain
I'm gonna love you
Till the stars fall from the sky
For you and I

Come on, come on, come on, come on now
Touch me babe
Can't you see that I am not afraid?
What was that promise that you made?
Why won't you tell me what you said?
What was that promise that you made?

I'm gonna love you
Till the heaven stops the rain
I'm gonna love you
Till the stars fall from the sky
For you and I

Stonger than dirt

Song Notes : Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger wrote this as "Hit Me," based on fights he had with his girlfriend. In a rare show of restraint, Jim Morrison insisted on changing it to "Touch Me."

"At the end of the song, Morrison chants "Stronger than dirt!" The line is from an Ajax commercial where a white knight rides around destroying dirt"

"This was released as a single 7 months before the album came out"

"Many critics claimed this was a sellout, as the horn and string sections were not typical of The Doors. The band admitted they were trying to broaden their audience and achieve commercial success with this album, which they did"

"This was popular at the time Morrison was arrested in Miami for indecent exposure. The song had nothing to do with Morrison's arrest, apart from an unfortunate title, but some radio stations refused to play it as a result"

The Doors - Waiting For The Sun

Waiting For The Sun Lyric

At first flash of Eden
We race down to the sea
Standing there on freedom's shore

Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun

Can you feel it
Now that Spring has come
That it's time to live in the scattered sun

Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun.
Waiting for the sun
Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting,
waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting

Waiting for you to come along
Waiting for you to hear my song
Waiting for you to come along
Waiting for you to tell me what went wrong

This is the strangest life I've ever known

Can you feel it
Now that Spring has come
That it's time to live in the scattered sun

Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun
Waiting for the sun

Song Note : "Waiting For The Sun" is the title of The Doors third album, and they tried to record it in those sessions, but didn't like how it came out. They brought it back 2 years later for their fifth album, Morrison Hotel

"This is about the quest for the American Dream, which is never attained"

The Doors - Moon Light Drive

Live at Hollywood Bowl 1968

Moon Light Drive Lyric

Let's swim to the moon
Let's climb through the tide
Penetrate the evening
That the city sleeps to hide

Let's swim out tonight, love
It's our turn to try
Parked beside the ocean
On our moonlight drive.

Let's swim to the moon
Let's climb through the tide
Surrender to the waiting worlds
That lap against our side.
Nothing left open
And no time to decide.
We've stepped into a river
On our moonlight drive.

Let's swim to the moon
Let's climb through the tide
You reach a hand to hold me
But I can't be your guide.
It's easy to love you
As I watch you glide.
We're falling through wet forests
On our moonlight drive.

Come on, baby, gonna take a little ride
Going' down by the ocean side
Gonna get real close
Get real tight
Baby gonna drown tonight.
Going' down, down, down.

Song Notes : "Jim Morrison wrote the lyrics while he was living on a rooftop in Venice Beach, California. At night everything was clear, so he would look into peoples windows, study what they were doing, and watch their TV sets"

"Jim Morrison recited this as a poem to Ray Manzarek when they ran into each other on a beach in Southern California in 1965. Manzarek, who knew Morrison from UCLA film school, thought it was great and convinced him to form a band"

"This was the first song recorded by The Doors. It was left off their first album because they felt it wasn't good enough"

"The lyrics are about a tryst on the beach under the moonlight"

Jim Morrison Possessed By Devil Part 2

Jim Morrison Possessed By Devil Part 1

The Doors - Crawling King Snake

Jim Morrison's Last Performance

The Doors - L.A. Woman

L.A. Woman Lyric

Well....I just got into town about an hour ago
Took a look around see which way the wind blows,
See the little girls in their Hollywood bungalows.
Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light
Or just another lost angel?
City of Night. City of Night.
City of Night. City of Night.
Whoo! C'mon!

L.A. Woman. L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
Drive thru your suburbs
Into your blues. Into your blues.
Yeah, yeah.
Into your blues. Into your blues.
Oh!

I see your hair is burnin'.
Hills are filled with fire.
If they say I never loved you,
You know they are all liars.

Drivin' down your freeway.
Midnight alleys roam.
Cops in cars. The topless bars.
Never saw a woman
So alone. So alone.
So alone. So alone.

Motel. Money. Murder. Madness.
Let's change the mood from glad to sadness.

Mr. Mojo Risin'. Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'. Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Gotta keep on risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Gotta keep on risin'
Risin', risin' Risin', risin'
Risin', risin' Risin', risin'
Risin', risin' Risin', risin'

Well, I took a little downer about an hour ago
Took a look around see which way the wind blows,
See the little girls in their Hollywood bungalows.
Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light
Or just another lost angel?
City of Night City of Night
City of Night City of Night
Oh! Oh!

L.A. Woman L.A. Woman
L.A. Woman L.A. Woman

Song Notes : " 'Mr. Mojo Risin' is an anagram for 'Jim Morrison.' He repeats the phrase at the end of the song faster and faster to simulate orgasm

"Early blues musicians often referred to their "Mojo," like in the Muddy Waters' song "I Got My Mojo Workin'." A mojo is a voodoo charm, usually a bag filled with various plants and items. Different plants would be used for different purposes. If the bag were red, it would be a mojo for love and you would have to put a personal item, such as hair or bit of clothing in order for the mojo to work. If the mojo were made out of a black bag it would be for death. Many white listeners, including Jim Morrison, thought mojo meant sexual energy, and that is how it's usually interpreted today, in part due to Austin Powers movies"

"Morrison recorded his vocals in the studio bathroom to get a fuller sound. He spent a lot of time in there anyway because of all the beer he drank during the sessions"

"This was the title track to the last Doors album before Jim Morrison died. The remaining members released 2 more albums, Other Voices and Full Circle, which both sold poorly"

"The Doors needed extra musicians to record this. Jerry Sheff was brought in to play bass, Marc Benno to play guitar. Sheff and Benno were going to tour with the band, but Morrison's death canceled those plans"

"Morrison got the idea for the "City of Night" lyric from John Rechy's 1963 book of the same name. It describes a sordid world of sexual perversion, which Morrison translated to Los Angeles"

"The first line, "Well, I did a little down about an hour ago" is a reference to a barbituate, specifically Rorer 714"

"The Doors produced this album themselves with the help of their engineer. Paul Rothchild, who produced their first 5 albums, did not want to work on this because he didn't like the songs. He produced an album for Janis Joplin instead"

The Doors - When You Are Strange

AC/DC - Back In Black Live

Back In Black Lyric

Back in black
I hit the sack
I've been too long I'm glad to be back
Yes, I'm gettin' loose
From the noose
That's kept me hanging about
I've been looking at the sky
'Cause it's gettin' me high
Forget the hearse 'cause I never die
I got nine lives
Cat's eyes
Abusin' every one of them and running wild

'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
Well, I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black

Back in the back
Of a Cadillac
Number one with a bullet, I'm a power pack
Yes, I'm in a bang
With a gang
They've got to catch me if they want me to hang
Cause I'm back on the track
And I'm leading the pack
Nobody's gonna get me on another rap
So look at me now
I'm just makin' my play
Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way

'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
Well, I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black

Well, I'm back, Yes I'm back
Well, I'm back, Yes I'm back
Well, I'm back, back
Well I'm back in black
Yes I'm back in black

Hooo yeah
Ohh yeah Yes I am
Oooh yeah, yeah Oh yeah
Back in now
Well I'm back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back, I'm back
Back Back in black
Yes I'm back in black
Out of the sight

Song Notes : "This was released 5 months after lead singer Bon Scott died. The song is a tribute to Scott, and they lyrics, "Forget the hearse 'cause I never die" imply that he will live on forever through his music. With Brian Johnson on lead vocals, the Back In Black album proved that AC/DC could carry on without Scott"

"Bon Scott saw Brian Johnson singing for another band in a pub, and was so impressed by his vocals, when he met back up with AC/DC he told them to get Johnson if anything should ever happen to him. After Bon's death, Angus Young called Johnson up and offered him the position of lead vocalist. Johnson told him where he could put it and hung up (he thought someone was pranking him). Eventually, of course, it worked out"

"The band got the idea for the title before writing any of the song, although Malcolm Young had the main guitar riff for years and used to play it frequently as a warm-up tune"

"Bon Scott had several lyrical ideas for the album, but those were abandoned by the band in favor of new lyrics by Brian, Malcolm and Angus. Former AC/DC manager Ian Jeffrey claims to still have a folder that contains lyrics of 15 songs written for Back In Black by Bon"

"The album had a black cover with the band's logo on it. It was a tribute to Bon Scott"

"This was the title track to AC/DC's most popular album. It has sold over 19 million copies in the US, the 6th highest ever. Worldwide, it has sold over 40 million"

"This song was recorded in The Bahamas and produced in New York by Mutt Lange. Back In Black was one of the first big albums Lange produced. He went on to work with Def Leppard, Celine Dion, and Shania Twain (who he married). In the late-'70s, he produced 2 albums for the band Clover, which featured Huey Lewis on harmonica and Alex Call on lead vocals"

AC/DC - Highway To Hell

Highway To Hell Lyric

Living easy, living free
Season ticket on a one-way ride
Asking nothing, leave me be
Taking everything in my stride
Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
Ain't nothing I would rather do
Going down, party time
My friends are gonna be there too

I'm on the highway to hell

No stop signs, speed limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Like a wheel, gonna spin it
Nobody's gonna mess me round
Hey Satan, payed my dues
Playing in a rocking band
Hey Momma, look at me
I'm on my way to the promised land

I'm on the highway to hell
(Don't stop me)

And I'm going down, all the way down
I'm on the highway to hell

Song Notes : The title is often attributed as a phrase AC/DC guitarist Angus Young used to describe touring in America. There is a much more literal explanation, however. Highway to Hell was the nickname for the Canning Highway in Australia. It runs from where lead singer Bon Scott lived in Fremantle and ends at a pub/bar called The Raffles, which was a big Rock 'n Roll drinking hole in the '70s. As Canning Highway gets close to the pub, it dips down into a steep decline: "No stop signs... speed limits... nobody gonna slow me down." So many people where killed by driving fast over that intersection at the top of the hill on the way for a good night out, that it was called the highway to hell, so when Bon was saying "I'm on the highway to hell" it meant that he was doing the nightly or weekly pilgrimage down Canning Highway to The Raffles bar to rock and drink with his mates: "Ain't nothing I would rather do. Going down, party time, my friends are gonna be there too."

"This was the first AC/DC song to chart in the US. It helped drive huge sales for the Highway To Hell album, which has sold over 7 million copies in the US. It was AC/DC's sixth album, and their last with vocalist Bon Scott, who died in 1980 from excessive drinking. Their next album, Back In Black, was dedicated to him"

"Recorded in London, Highway To Hell was the first AC/DC album recorded outside of Australia. The album cover had Angus Young on the cover wearing his schoolboy uniform and devil horns. Some religious groups found this quite offensive"

Serial killer Richard Ramirez claimed this album compelled him to murder. He believed AC/DC stood for "Anti Christ/Devil's Child."

AC/DC performed this at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony when they were inducted in 2003. Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler inducted them, saying, "There is no greater purveyor of the power chord."

Rolling Stones & AC/DC - Rock Me Baby

AC/DC & Stephen Tyler - You Shook Me All Night Long

You Shook Me All Night Long Lyric

She was a fast machine
She kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman I had ever seen
She had the sightless eyes
Telling me no lies
Knockin' me out with those American thighs
Taking more than her share
Had me fighting for air
She told me to come but I was already there

'Cause the walls start shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were making it and you -

CHORUS:
Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me all night long

Working double time
On the seduction line
She was one of a kind, she's just mine all mine
She wanted no applause
Just another course
Made a meal out of me and came back for more
Had to cool me down
To take another round
Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing

'Cause the walls were shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were making it and you -

CHORUS

And knocked me out and then you
Shook me all night long
You had me shakin' and you
Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me
Well you took me

You really took me and you
Shook me all night long
Ooooh you
Shook me all night long
Yeah, yeah, you
Shook me all night long

Your really took me and you
Yeah you shook me, yeah you shook me
All night long

Song Notes : "This was the first AC/DC single featuring new lead singer Brian Johnson. He replaced Bon Scott, who died February 20, 1980 after a drinking binge"

"Johnson came up with the line "She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean" when he realized that cars and women were very much alike - they go fast, let you down, but then make you happy again when you see the new model. AC/DC has never been known for deep, meaningful lyrics"

"Johnson said the inspiration came from seeing images of American girls while recording in the Bahamas for the album Back In Black"

"Angus and Malcolm Young have received lots of praise for their guitar on this. The song is often placed within the Top-100 guitar solos of all time"

"This was the first AC/DC song to make the US Top-40"

"AC/DC played this when they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2003. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, who inducted them, sang on it with them"

Led Zeppelin & AeroSmith Performed Live Together

AeroSmith - Angel

Angel Lyric

I'm alone, yeah, I don't know if I can face the night
I'm in tears and the cryin that I do is for you
I want your love, let's break the wall between us
Don't make it tough, I'll put away my pride
Enough's enough, I've suffered and I've seen the light

You're my angel, come and save me tonight
You're my angel, come and make it alright
You're my angel, come and save me tonight

Don't know what I'm gonna do about this feeling inside
Yes, it's true, loneliness took me for a ride
Without your love, I'm nothin but a beggar
Without your love, a dog without a bone
What can I do, I'm sleepin in this bed alone

You're the reason I live
You're the reason I die
You're the reason I give when I break down and cry
Don't need no reason why
Baby, baby, baby

Song Notes : "Lead singer Steven Tyler wrote this with producer and songwriter Desmond Child. The song finds Tyler singing about being lonely and depressed, and calling for a special girl to come save him"

"This slick ballad was not typical of Aerosmith's work, but the song was a hit and the band had several successful slow songs over the next few years, including "Amazing" and "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing." Lyrically, this was a huge departure from the swaggering songs about sex that Aerosmith was known for. Especially disturbing to some fans was how Tyler begs the girl to be with him in this song"

AeroSmith - What It Takes

What It Takes Lyric

There goes my old girlfriend, there's another diamond ring
And, uh, all those late night promises I guess they don't mean a thing
So baby, what's the story? Did you find another man?
Is it easy to sleep in the bed that we made?
When you don't look back I guess the feelings start to fade away.
I used to feel your fire
But now it's cold inside
And you're back on the street like you didn't miss a beat, yeah

Chorus:
Tell me what it takes to let you go
Tell me how the pain's supposed to go
Tell me how it is that you can sleep in the night
Without thinking you lost everything that was good in your life to the toss of the dice?
Tell me what it takes to let you go.

Yeah
Girl, before I met you I was F.I.N.E. Fine
but your love made me a prisoner, yeah my heart's been doing time
You spent me up like money, then you hung me out to dry
It was easy to keep all your lies in disguise
Cause you had me in deep with the devil in your eyes

Chorus

Tell me that you're happy that you're on your own Yeah, yeah, yeah
Tell me that it's better when you're all alone
Tell me that your body doesn't miss my touch
Tell me that my lovin' didn't mean that much
Tell me you ain't dyin' when you're cryin' for me

Chorus

Tell me what it takes to let you go
Tell me how the pain's supposed to go
Tell me how it is that you can sleep in the night
Without thinking you lost everything that was good in your life to the toss of the dice?
Tell me who's to blame for thinkin' twice
No no no no 'cause I don't wanna burn in paradise
Oooooo... Let go, let go, let go, I don't wanna burn in paradise
let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go,
let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go,
I don't wanna burn, I don't wanna burn

Song Notes : "The lyrics, "Girl, before I met you I was F.I.N.E - fine," are a reference to another song on the album: F.I.N.E."

"This song is about breaking up with a girlfriend and wanting to know what it takes to get over it"

AeroSmith - Amazing

Amazing Lyric

Kept the right ones out
And let the wrong ones in
Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins
There were times in my life
When I was goin' insane
Tryin' to walk through
The pain
When I lost my grip
And I hit the floor
Yeah, I thought I could leave but couldn't get out the door
I was so sick and tired
Of livin' a lie
I was wishin' that I
Would die

It's amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It's amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
It's amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight

That one last shot's a permanent vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings?
Life's a journey not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings

You have to learn to crawl
Before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't listen to all that righteous talk
I was out on the street,
Just a-tryin' to survive
Scratching to stay alive

Song Notes : "This song is about climbing back to the top after you've hit rock bottom. Steven Tyler and songwriter Richie Supa wrote it for the kids at the Caron Foundation, which is the drug and alcohol rehab center in Pennsylvania where Tyler gained his sobriety in 1986"

"The lyrics document the struggles Aerosmith faced and overcame as they were confronted with drug and alcohol problems as well as creative differences that threatened to break up the band. The line, "That one last shot's a permanent vacation" refers to the Aerosmith's comeback album Permanent Vacation, which put them back on top. The line, "How high can you fly with broken wings?" is a reference to their logo, which contains a set of wings"

AeroSmith - Crazy

Crazy Lyric

Come here baby
You know you drive me up a wall the way
you make good on all the nasty tricks you pull
Seems like we're makin' up more than we're makin' love
And it always seems you got somthinn'
on your mind other than me
Girl, you got to change your crazy ways
You hear me

Say you're leavin' on a seven thirty train
and that you're headin' out to Hollywood
Girl you been givin' me that line so many times
it kinda gets like feelin' bad looks good

That kinda lovin'
Turns a man to a slave
That kinda lovin'
Sends a man right to his grave...

I go crazy, crazy, baby, I go crazy
You turn it on
Then you're gone
Yeah you drive me
Crazy, crazy, crazy, for you baby
What can I do, honey
I feel like the color blue...

You're packin' up your stuff and talkin' like
it's tough and tryin' to tell me that it's time to go
But I know you ain't wearin'
nothin' underneath that overcoat
And it's all a show

That kind of lovin'
Makes me wanna pull
Down the shade, yeah
That kind of lovin'
Yeah now I'm never, never,
never, never gonna be the same

I'm losin' my mind, girl
'Cause I'm goin' crazy

I need your love, honey
I need your love

Crazy, crazy, crazy, I go crazy
You turn it on
Then you're gone
Yeah you drive me
Crazy, crazy, crazy, for you baby
I'm losin' my mind, girl
Cause I'm goin' crazy
Crazy, crazy, crazy for you baby
You turn it on, then you're gone
Yeah you drive me

Song Notes : "This is about a guy whose girlfriend packs up her stuff and leaves, and just how much he misses her"

"In the video, Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler teamed up to be runaway school girls who have the time of their lives on the road"

"This won a Grammy in 1995 for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. It was Aerosmith's third Grammy"

Guitar Lessons - How to Play Sweet Child O' Mine 3

Guitar Lessons - How to Play Sweet Child O' Mine 2

Guitar Lessons - How to Play Sweet Child O' Mine 1

Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

Sweet Child O' Mine Lyric

She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face

She takes me away to that
Special place
And if I stared too long
I'd probably break down and cry

Whoa, whoa, whoa
Sweet child o' mine
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Sweet love of mine

She'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 by

Whoa, whoa, whoa
Sweet child o' mine
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Sweet love of mine

Where do we go
Where do we go now
Where do we go
Sweet child o' mine

Song Notes : "Axl Rose wrote this about his girlfriend, Erin Everly, who is the daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers. They married in 1990 but divorced a month later"

"This was the first Guns N' Roses song to chart in the US. The first 2 singles from Appetite For Destruction, "It's So Easy" and "Welcome To The Jungle," flopped, although "Welcome To The Jungle" became a hit when it was re-released"

"This didn't hit US #1 until a year after Appetite For Destruction was released. Its success prompted the group to re-release "Welcome To The Jungle," which then became a hit"

"Slash came up with the riff when he was playing around on his guitar. He thought it was silly and wanted nothing to do with it, but Axl loved it and had him keep playing it. Izzy Stradlin added some chords, and the song came together. For a long time, Slash hated it, but it eventually grew on him"

"This won Best Single, Heavy Metal/Hard Rock at the 1989 American Music Awards. The group performed "Patience" at the show with Don Henley sitting in for Steven Alder (who was sick) on drums"

"In 1989, this won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Heavy Metal Video"

"A third verse Axl wrote was edited out because the record company thought it made the song too long"

Guns N' Roses - Welcome to The Jungle

Welcome to The Jungle Lyric

Welcome to the jungle
We've got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey, we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey
We got your disease

Chorus:
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
knees, knees
I wanna watch you bleed

Welcome to the jungle
We take it day by day
If you want it you're gonna bleed
But it's the price you pay
And you're a very sexy girl
That's very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights
But you won't get them for free

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpentine
I, I wanna hear you scream

Welcome to the jungle
It gets worse here everyday
Learn to live like an animal
In the jungle where we play
If you got a hunger for what you see
You'll take it eventually
You can have anything you want
But you better not take it from me

Chorus

And when you're high you never
Ever want to come down, YEAH!

You know where you are
You're in the jungle baby
You're gonna die

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
knees, knees

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpentine

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
knees, knees

In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
It's gonna bring you down-HA!

Song Notes : "Axl Rose wrote the lyrics when he was in Seattle, which gave him some perspective on the size of Los Angeles"

"This song is about Los Angeles. It exposes the dark side of the city many people encounter when they go there to pursue fame. Guns N' Roses knew this side of the city well: in 1985, they lived in a place on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles that they called "Hell House." The house was often filled with drugs, alcohol and groupies"

Slash (from the notes to Guns N' Roses: The Hits): "I was at my house and I had that riff happening and Axl came over and he got those lyrics together, and then the band sort of arranged it. We got an arrangement for the whole band, 'cause that's how we work. Someone comes in with an idea and someone else has input and in that way everyone's happy. That came together really quickly too, that was arranged in one day."

"This song caused further tension between Axl Rose and Slash in 2001 when Slash wanted to let the producers of Black Hawk Down use it in their movie, but Axl refused unless he could re-record it with the new members of Guns N' Roses (the old members would have lost out on royalties). After Axl formed a new version of the band in 2001, things got testy between him and the previous members, and Axl has blocked use of their songs in movies"

Guns N' Roses - Don't Cry

Don't Cry Lyric

Talk to me softly
There's something in your eyes
Don't hang your head in sorrow
And please don't cry
I know how you feel inside I've
I've been there before
Somethin's changin' inside you baby
And don't you know

Don't you cry tonight
I still love you
Don't you cry tonight
Don't you cry tonight
There's a heaven above you baby
And don't you cry tonight

Give me a whisper
And give me a sigh
Give me a kiss before you tell me goodbye
Don't you take it so hard now
And please don't take it so bad
I'll still be thinking of you
And the times we had ... baby

And don't you cry tonight
Don't you cry tomight
Don't you cry tonight
There's a heaven above you baby
And don't you cry tonight

And please remember that I never lied
And please remember
How I felt inside now honey
You gotta make it your own way
But you'll be alright now sugar
You'll feel better tomorrow
Come the morning light now baby

And don't you cry tonight
An don't you cry tonight
An don't you cry tonight
There's a heaven above you baby
And don't you cry
Don't you ever cry
Don't you cry tonight
Baby maybe someday
Don't you cry
Don't you ever cry
Don't you cry
Tonight

Song Notes : "As stated by Axl Rose in an interview with Geffen Records for a video collection, this song was the first song written by the band. Rose wrote it with guitarist Izzy Stradlin after they each fell for the same girl. She wouldn't make a choice and told Axl while he was sitting on a park bench, "Don't Cry Bill," which provided the title"

Shannon Hoon, who was lead singer of Blind Melon, sang backup on this track. Hoon and Axl Rose both grew up in Lafayette, Indiana. Hoon also sang on "November Rain."

"This song appears on both Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. The second version is considered the alternate, and contains different lyrics"

Guns N' Roses - Civil War (Live/Voodoo Child Intro)

Civil War Lyric

"What we've got here is failure to communicate
Some men you just can't reach...
So you get what we had here last week
Which is the way he wants it
Well, he gets it
And I don't like it anymore than you men"

Look at your young men fighting
Look at your women crying
Look at your young men dying
The way they've always done before

Look at the hate we're breeding
Look at the fear we're feeding
Look at the lives we're leading
The way they've always done before

My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of God and the human rights
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars

D'you wear a black armband
When they shot the man
Who said "Peace could last forever"
And in my first memories
They shot Kennedy
And I went numb when I learned to see
So I never felt for Vietnam
We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all
That you can't trust freedom when it's not in your hands
When everybody's fighting for the promised land

And
I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war

Look at the shoes you're filling
Look at the blood we're spilling
Look at the world we're killing
The way we've always done before
Look in the doubt we've wallowed
Look at the leaders we've followed
Look at the lies we've swallowed
And I don't want to hear no more

My hands are tied
For all I've seen has changed my mind
But still the wars go on as the years go by
With no love of God or human rights
'Cause all these dreams are swept aside
By bloody hands of the hypnotized
Who carry the cross of homicide
And history bears the scars of our civil wars

"We practice selective annihilation of mayors
And government officials for example to create a vacuum
Then we fill that vacuum
As popular war advances
Peace is closer"

I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
And I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
I don't need your civil war
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war
I don't need one more war

I don't need one more war
Whaz so civil about war anyway

Son Notes : "This song is politically charged, and has an entire verse about President Kennedy's assassination. It also deals with the Vietnam War and the battle for civil rights in the US"

"Slash (Saul Hudson), Duff (Michael McKagan) and W. Axl Rose wrote this for Use Your Illusion 2, which was released simultaneously with Use Your Illusion 1. The song originally appeared on the 1990 album Nobody's Child, a fundraising compilation for Romanian orphans"

On September 27, 1993, Duff explained where the song came from in an interview with the radio show Rockline: "Basically it was a riff that we would do at soundchecks. Axl came up with a couple of lines at the beginning. I went in a peace march, when I was a little kid, with my mom. I was like 4 years old. For Martin Luther King. And that's when: 'Did you wear the black arm band when they shot the man who said: 'Peace could last forever?'. It's just true-life experiences, really.'"

The speech at the beginning of the song is from the movie Cool Hand Luke: "What we have here is a failure to communicate..."

"Part of the American Civil War song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is used at the beginning and end of the song"

"The line, "Did you wear a black armband when they shot the man who said, 'Peace could last forever'" could be referring to the black hand's assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that triggered World War I. It could also refer to the assassination of John Lennon, who strongly opposed the Vietnam war. The black armbands a sign of mourning, so the whole line asks whether we mourned for John Lennon as many others did at that time"

Guns 'N Roses - Estranged

Estranged Lyric

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 28
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 mustn'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 thru, 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

Song Note : Though Axl Rose has the only writing credit for this song, in the album's CD booklet he offered this telling dedication: "Slash, thanks for the killer guitar melodies."

This is one of Guns N' Roses' longest running songs, as well as one of the longest and most expensive music videos ever made. The video is the third and final part of an unofficial trilogy of videos "Don't Cry" and "November Rain."

"The music video was part of a trilogy along with the ones for "November Rain" and "Don't Cry." They were inspired by the short story Without You. This is the best known of a collection of horror tales, The Language Of Fear, penned by author and friend of Rose, Del James. The house in the promo in Malibu, California actually belongs to Rose, who has lived there since 1991"

Guns n' Roses - November Rain

November Rain Lyric

When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same

'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain

We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain

But lovers always come and lovers always go
And no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away

If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
Just knowin' that you were mine
All mine
So if you want to love me
Then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain

Do you need some time...on your own
Do you need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone

I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you

Sometimes I need some time...on my own
Sometimes I need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain

Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one

Song Notes : "The lyrics and the video are based on a short story by Del James called Without You. The story is part of a collection called The Language Of Fear, which was brought back to market in 2008 after being out of print. The new version of the book contains an intro by Axl Rose, who wrote: "Del James has a personal knowledge of most of the situations he writes about, and has a love of the gutter from having been there." James contributed lyrics to 2 Guns N' Roses songs: The Garden and Yesterdays, and has directed several music videos"

"The original version was 25 minutes long, and the song was edited down to 8:59. It is the longest ever Top 10 hit and contains the longest guitar solo in a Top 10 single - Slash actually plays 2 guitar solos in the song. Rose put the song's lengthy gestation period down to opposition from Slash and Duff McKagan"

"The video was a huge production and got a lot of play on MTV. It starred actress and model Stephanie Seymour, Axl Rose's girlfriend at the time. In the video, she and Axl get married with Slash serving as best man and the rest of the band in the front row. After the wedding, it starts raining and the next scene is Stephanie's funeral in the same church. The video cost over $1.5 million to make"

"This won for best cinematography at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, where it also received a Video Vanguard award. Guns N' Roses performed this at the end of the show with Elton John on piano"

LeadBelly - Goodnight Irene

GoodNight Irene Lyric

The very last words that I heard her say
Was please sing me one more song

Irene goodnight,Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, Goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Last Saturday night, I got married
Me and my wife settled down
Now me and my wife are parted
I'm gonna take another stroll downtown

Stop rambling, stop your rambling
Stop staying out late at night
Go home to your wife and family
Stay there by your fireside bright

I love Irene God knows I do
Love her till the seas run dry
And if Irene turns her back on me
I'll take morphine and die

Song Notes : "This is a folk standard, meaning no one knows who wrote it. Leadbelly's version has become the most widely recognized"

"Leadbelly, whose real name was Huddie Ledbetter, developed this while he was in jail for attempted murder from 1918-1924. It won him his freedom when the warden let him go after hearing this"

"In 1930, Leadbelly was once again jailed for attempted murder. Once again, his music won him his freedom when John Lomax and his son Alan convinced prison officials to release him. John and Alan Lomax were anthropologists and music historians who collected songs to preserve in the Library of Congress. They led a successful campaign to free Leadbelly and got him released in 1934. Leadbelly continued to record, and although he never made much money, his music is considered a big piece of US history, as it describes the struggles of black Americans"

Most recorded versions are much more tame than Leadbelly's original, with the line "I'll get you in my dreams" replaced with "I'll see you in my dreams."

"In 1950, one year after Leadbelly died, this was a #1 hit for the Folk group The Weavers. Other artists to record the song include Ry Cooder, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, The Chieftains, Tom Waits and Peter, Paul and Mary"

LeadBelly - Bourgeois Blues

LeadBelly - House of Rising Sun

LeadBelly - NewYork City

LeadBelly - Pick a Bale of Cotton 1945

Nirvana - Where did You Sleep Last Night