Guns N’ Roses' Surprising “Sweet Child O' Mine”
Of all the Guns N’ Roses hits, “Sweet Child O' Mine” remains by far the most unlikely. For starters, the song came from a poem. Yes, it’s based on a poem that Axl Rose wrote about girlfriend Erin Everly, daughter of Don Everly of the Everly Brothers. While the couple’s short-lived marriage failed to last a year, “Sweet Child O' Mine” ranks as the most popular Guns N’ Roses hit for the masses.
Ironically, the group, especially Slash, wasn’t overly fond of the smash hit even though his guitar riff is considered one of the better ones you’ll ever hear. Here’s the story of Guns N’ Roses #1 hit of 1988 “Sweet Child O' Mine.”
Coming Together
Axl, unlike most rock leads, wasn't afraid to try something different. It turns out the lead singer just needed some positivity in his life. "A lot of rock bands are too wimpy to have any sentiment or any emotion in any of their stuff unless they are in pain," said Rose at the time. "'Sweet Child O' Mine' is the first positive love song I've ever written, but I never had anyone to write anything about before."
Despite a rough childhood, Axl found a happy moment in his youth, thanks to Erin Everly. "The 'blue sky' line actually was one of my first childhood memories - looking at the blue sky and wishing I could disappear in it because it was so beautiful."
Slash’s Take
Slash, on the other hand, did not like the song. In fact, according to Duff McKagan's 2012 autobiography, Slash considered it the worst Guns N’ Roses song ever! As he said:
"You know, Guns N' Roses was always a real hardcore, sort of, AC/DC kind of hard rock band with a lot of attitude. If we did any kind of ballads, it was bluesy. This was an uptempo ballad. That's one of the gayest things you can write. But at the same time, it's a great song - I'm not knocking it - but at the time, it just did not fit in with the rest of our, sort of, schtick. And, of course, it would be the biggest hit we ever had."
Apparently, somewhere along the way Slash influenced his frontman because many years later Axl said during a radio interview, "The video they wanted to do for the song was supposed to be of an Asian woman carrying a baby into the United States. At the end of the video, the baby is cut open and there is heroin inside because that's what the song is about."
Rise To The Top
To add the unlikelihood of “Sweet Child O' Mine,” the band’s label also never believed in the song. They first tried "It's So Easy" and "Welcome To The Jungle" as the first two singles. After both failed to gain the traction they were looking for, they finally tried "Sweet Child O' Mine," which steadily climbed to the top, bringing the album along with it. The success of the song also gave a second life to "Welcome To The Jungle."
In a twist of fate, the song took off right as the band was beginning to tour with Aerosmith. The Bad Boys From Boston had just come out of rehab and had a strict rule of no drugs in front of them. In an attempt to steer Guns N’ Roses away from their path, they gave the boys a shirt with all the rehab centers they attended rather than cities on the tour. However, Steven Tyler and the boys declined to preach anymore than that.
Still Going
Even after all these years, Axl hasn’t quite become accustomed to hearing his hits in strange places with even stranger versions.
“The weirdest thing is hearing Muzak versions of 'Sweet Child O' Mine' in elevators and shopping malls. I've even heard an arrangement of it for harp. Recently I was in a hotel and the lounge pianist was playing it. I get a mixture of emotions when that happens. Part of it is 'hey wow, that's our tune!' part of it is embarrassment at even noticing it, part of it is the bewilderment of somebody else playing your music, someone who knows nothing about you, who has never met you, who is just playing your music as part of a thousand pieces of material that they have to play. Imagine how, say, Paul McCartney must feel, hearing his music absolutely everywhere."
