Guns N' Roses - Don't Cry

Guns N' Roses - Don't Cry - Meaning of the song

As stated by Axl Rose this song pre-dates the band. Before Guns N' Roses formed, 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.

Guns N' Roses tried recording this for their first album, 1987's Appetite for Destruction, but they couldn't get the sound they were looking for (this was before they earned huge budgets for their projects). It wasn't until 1991 that it finally appeared on an album. The band performed the song live in their early years, but stopped once they recorded Appetite. Bootleg recordings of the song were floating around, however, and Shannon Hoon had one - when he was in a cover band he would sometimes play it. Finally, in 1991, Guns N' Roses issued the song on an album after keeping it dormant for four years.

The video is a grand production, with a story written by Rose and Josh Richman. It was directed by Andy Morahan, who also did the "November Rain" video (Rose's girlfriend at the time, Stephanie Seymour, appears in both videos). Several very distinct scenes comprise the 5:14 clip, starting with baby. Zooming into his eye, we dissolve to a snowy scene where a frozen Axl is holding a gun; referred to as the "Frozen Man" scene, Axl says it is meant to show "somebody trapped in time." From there, it gets even more conceptual, with scenes of a funeral, a drowning, and domestic unrest intercut among footage of the band performing on a rooftop. Things to note: A sign that says "Where's Izzy." This refers to Izzy Stradlin, who had left the band, replaced by Gilby Clarke. The scenes where Slash is getting beat up by a girl in the car got pretty intense - he says that she was hitting him for real, and he was really trying to fend her off, since he was supposed to keep his eyes on the road. Shannon Hoon shows up on the rooftop, singing along in the chorus.

Don't Cry - Lyrics

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 Something is changing inside you and don't you know? Don't you cry tonight, I still love you, baby And 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 tonight 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, oh 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 Don't you cry tonight 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