‘November Rain’ is a song by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. Written by the band's lead vocalist Axl Rose, the power ballad was released in February 1992 as the third single from the band's third studio album, Use Your Illusion I. The song peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was the longest song to enter the top ten, at the time of its release. As of 2019, it was the fourth longest song to enter the Hot 100 chart. Additionally, ‘November Rain’ reached number two on the Portuguese Singles Chart, number four on the UK Singles Chart, and the top 10 on several other music charts around the world.
Slash states in his autobiography that the band recorded in 1986 an 18-minute version of ‘November Rain’ at a session with guitarist Manny Charlton (of rock band Nazareth) the year prior to beginning sessions for Appetite for Destruction. The song's composition was influenced by Elton John's 1973 opus ‘Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding’.
According to a story Axl Rose reported during the 2006 leg of the Chinese Democracy Tour, no other band members wanted to participate in the production of this song (or the other notable ballad ‘Estranged’). Slash and Duff McKagan were opposed to the band's drift to symphonic ballads, feeling their choice of more direct rock songs were being overlooked by Rose. Eventually, Rose persuaded the others during work at Can-Am Studios (where some of the album was recorded and mixed). Slash disputed Axl's claims of harsh musical differences in his autobiography released the next year. Slash reported that his guitar solo in the song's album version developed directly from an improvisation. According to Slash, Axl wrote the song “about a time someone bent his fingers back like he was a little baby.”
In the United States, the song peaked at number three for two weeks in 1992, making it Guns N' Roses' sixth and last top-10 hit. It stayed in the top 10 for 10 weeks and on the Hot 100 for 30 weeks. The song also peaked at number nine in Germany and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. In Australia, ‘November Rain’ was ranked at number two on the 1992 end-of-year chart despite only reaching number five on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was included on ARIA's year-end charts in two consecutive years (1992 and 1993, when it appeared at 36). A similar situation took place in New Zealand, where the song peaked at number seven but stayed in the top 20 for 24 non-consecutive weeks, ending 1992 as New Zealand's second-best-selling single.
Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times wrote, "This sweeping ballad--reminiscent of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s most majestic work--underscores the ambition and range of the best and most volatile American hard-rock group in a decade." Dave Jennings from Melody Maker said, "There's probably no other band who can match the Gunners' ability to sound frighteningly real and then laughably crass in rapid succession. On ‘November Rain’, they fit both extremes into one nine-minute epic ballad."
The video was directed by Andy Morahan, who had done the popular George Michael videos for ‘Father Figure’ and ‘Faith,’ and worked with GnR on ‘Don't Cry’ and ‘You Could Be Mine.’ A huge production, the ‘November Rain’ video cost over $1.5 million to make, but reaped rewards for the band, as it got a lot of play on MTV. It stars 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.
Label – Geffen
Songwriter – Axl Rose
Producers – Mike Clink, Guns N' Roses
SONG LYRICS
[Instrumental Intro][Verse 1]
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? Yeah
[Chorus]
Nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
[Verse 2]
We've been through this such a long, long time
Just tryna kill the pain, ooh yeah
But lovers always come and lovers always go
And no one's really sure who's lettin' go today, walkin' 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
[Chorus]
So, if you want to love me
Then, darlin', don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain
[Refrain]
Do you need some time on your own?
Do you need some time all alone?
Ooh, everybody needs some time on their own
Ooh, don't you know you need some time all alone?
[Bridge]
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, woah-woah
[Guitar Solo]
[Refrain]
Sometimes, I need some time on my own
Sometimes, I need some time all alone
Ooh, everybody needs some time on their own
Ooh, don't you know you need some time all alone?
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3]
And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain, ooh yeah
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
[Chorus]
So, never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain
[Guitar Solo]
[Outro]
(You're not the only one, you're not the only one)
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
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
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
Don't ya think that you need somebody?
Don't ya think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody