“Don’t Cry” made Guns n’ Roses an arena rock band on par with Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones. Having a power ballad do this for a rock band was not a novel strategy. But “Don’t Cry” was, actually, one of the first songs by the band and part of a mysterious trilogy of epic songs and music videos.
There are plenty of questions to ask about “Don’t Cry” and that era of Guns n’ Roses, where everything seemed to be lining up for the group in spite of the controversies surrounding them. This is why, today, I am looking at the meaning of the lyrics and the video of one of the most famous songs of the 1990s, “Don’t Cry.”
Guns N’ Roses’ Long Journey to Releasing “Don’t Cry”
It will surprise many to find out that “Don’t Cry” was one of the very first songs written by Guns n’ Roses. After all, the tale of early Gn’R is one of excess and of fighting to survive on the dangerous streets of Los Angeles.
It will surprise, however, nobody familiar with the band to find out that this was the brainchild of a highly ambitious Axl Rose who had a vision for the band even as far back as 1985.
It was an unlikely group of people who had formed Guns n’ Roses. All of them had been in bands previously. Duff McKagan was a punk-rock bassist from Seattle. Axl Rose had followed guitarist Izzy Stradlin from Indiana to Los Angeles. They’d been a member of Hollywood Rose. And lead guitar player Slash and drummer Steven Adler were from L.A. and had been in a band called Road Crew.
For a few years, the members of Guns n’ Roses squatted, roomed together and practised as often as they could. They played in tiny venues, terrorized Los Angeles, and were terrorized in return. The autobiographies written by Slash, Adlet and McKagan paint the story of a group of misfits who dabbled in liquor, drugs, and debauchery yet took music very seriously.
The Geffen Record Deal
By late 1986, the band had a record deal. Their debut album, “Appetite for Destruction“, was released the following year. It was a ballsy hard rock record that contained memorable melodies, excellent singing and brilliant playing.
“Welcome to the Jungle” shocked the U.S. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” announced to the world that the musicians had tender hearts as well as attitude. And “Paradise City” suggested that playing stadium shows would soon become a reality.
But where was “Don’t Cry,” the first song that the band ever wrote together? According to Axl Rose, it had been saved up. There are two possible reasons for this. The first is, according to Rose, that the band didn’t yet have the tools and production budget to complete the band’s vision for the song. This was an Elton John-inspired ballad meant to sound grandiose.
It is also highly possible that the band decided it could only accommodate one real power ballad on the album. “Appetite for Destruction” had made room for “Sweet Child O’ Mine” among hard-edged numbers like “It’s So Easy” or “Nighttrain.” Another tender ballad would offset the balance.
The Song and Video Trilogy
“Use Your Illusion” was a great extravagance. It was one befitting of a band looking to take over the world. It was one befitting of a group filled with confidence and flush with great songs.
“Use Your Illusion” was released as two separate albums. Both were released on the same day. Both fought for the upper echelons of the charts. The band announced that they’d opted to release two separate disks as a gift for fans who’d want to share. Still, this was a statement as much as anything else.
So were the songs chosen for the albums. The rockers were as mean as ever, with songs like “Perfect Crime,” “Double Talkin’ Jive,” and “Right Next Door to Hell” pumping with animosity. There were also bombastic renditions of classic rock staples like “Live and Let Die” or “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” And the band searched for similar highs on songs like “Civil War” or “Locomotive (Complicity).”
But the centrepieces of the album were three power ballads. No expenses had been sparred on the Mike Clink production of “November Rain,” “Estranged” or “Don’t Cry.” No expenses would be spared for the music videos that worked as a unified story inspired by the writing of Del James, a friend of Axl Rose.
Musically, “Don’t Cry” and the other power ballads were inspired by Rose, his love of Elton John ballads and his personal struggles. “Don’t Cry” had two sets of lyrics and was included twice, once on each album.
All three ballads were successful, but “Don’t Cry” was the biggest of them all. It was a top 10 hit in many countries. The single alone sold close to a million copies, half of those in the U.S. alone. And the song became an undeniable radio staple.
The Meaning of the Lyrics to “Don’t Cry”
The lyrics to the original version of “Don’t Cry” suggest romance and conflict. These are some of the best that Rose ever penned. They are purposely cryptic, and this has, no doubt, helped fans project their own story on to the song.
But Axl Rose has spoken in recent years about the song and its origin. This gives us a better understanding of where the song started and the band members’ relationships.
“Don’t Cry” deals lyrically, primarily with a love triable involving Rose, guitarist Izzy Stradlin and an unnamed woman. In “Don’t Cry: Makin’ F@*!ing Videos,” Rose says that the woman was a former girlfriend of Stradlin. According to Axl, the lyrics came to him after saying goodbye one last time to the girl in front of the Roxy Club in L.A.
At a September 2021 concert, Axl Rose elaborated on the song’s meaning. He told the crowd: “I went over to Izzy’s and I threw some rocks at his window. He came to the window and was worried I came over there to kick his ass. We’d been in an argument for a few months. It was like the Blues Brothers. ‘We gotta get the band back together’…We sat down, and I was like, ‘Hey, I got some really depressing lyrics.’ He was like, ‘I got a really depressing guitar part.’ I was like, ‘Perfect, we got it made.“
Alternate Lyrics
There is also an alternative version of the song that hardcore fans of the band hold in similar esteem. Why put out another song with the same music? Axl Rose says in 1993 that he’d decided to rewrite the lyrics to “Don’t Cry” so as to make them more meaningful to the band’s situation at the time.
“Don’t Cry (alternate lyrics)” was placed toward the tail-end of “Use Your Illusion II.” The lyrics allude to the band’s newfound fame and to the struggles of building a future with someone considering all of the struggles of the past.
Both songs featured the vocal harmonies of Shannon Hoon. The singer of Blind Melon was also a native of Indiana, as were Rose and Stradlin. He was invited to contribute vocals. This helped raise Blind Melon’s profile, who would soon have a hit with the song “No Rain.” Guitarist Slash has gone on record saying that Hoon’s backing vocals helped make the song all the more soulful.
The Meaning of the Music Video to “Don’t Cry”
“Don’t Cry” was promoted with the help of an expensive music video. This was part of an intended trilogy that would also include “November Rain” and “Estranged.”
The videos were meant to have stories linked to one another. Axl Rose and model Stephanie Seymour were to be featured in all three music videos as the central characters. The storyline was inspired by Del James and his novella “Without You.”
Andy Morahan and Mark Racco directed the video, while John Linson was the producer. Like music videos by Madonna or Michael Jackson, “Don’t Cry” was intended to be a mini rock movie.
Real-life Inspiration
Some of the scenes involving Rose and Seymour were inspired by Rose’s tumultuous relationship with former wife Erin Everly. One scene in particular involves Rose giving a gun to Seymour.
Rose commented on the difficulty of filing the scene: “With our video for “Don’t Cry,” and the fight that Stephanie Seymour, (Axl’s then-current girlfriend) and I had over the gun, you don’t necessarily know what’s going on. But in real life that happened with Erin Everly (Axl’s ex-wife) and myself. I was going to shoot myself. We fought over the gun and I finally let her win. I was kind of mentally crippled after that. Before shooting our documentary, I said, “This seems really hard, ’cause it really happened.” And the night we wrote the scene, my friend Josh said, “Okay, how are you going to play that?” He wanted to rehearse and I was like, “Look, leave me alone.” But he kept pushing until, finally, I stood up. I had this cigarette lighter that looked like a real gun and I said, “Look, I’m gonna do it like this.” And I just went over and slammed around in the hallway a bit and threw the gun and said, “Is that good enough for you?“
Slash, Duff and Izzy’s Scenes
The other band members got to choose their own brief scenes. Slash is seen driving a car off a cliff while having a fight with the female passenger. Meanwhile, Duff MacKagan dodges a bottle being thrown at him.
There is one notable absence, however. Izzy Stradlin, founding member of Guns n’ Roses, had left the band prior to shooting the video. A sign saying “Where is Izzy?” is visible, and Rose is seen talking to himself, replacing Stradlin in the scene in which he would have appeared.
Once released, the music video received heavy airplay from MTV, the station responsible for making music videos the most important format for promoting bands and musical artists at that time. With MTV’s help, along with heavy touring of the world, Guns n’ Roses became one of the biggest bands on the planet at a time when most 80s heavy metal bands were being replaced by grunge.
The Legacy of “Don’t Cry”
Both the original song and the music video have made “Don’t Cry” a cultural touchstone for the early 1990s music scene. It is, arguably, the song and the video that opened Guns n’ Roses up to a global audience.
It’s also a song that perfected the rock ballad format. While popular throughout the decades, since the 1970s, songs using this template have continued to become hits until quite recently.
“Don’t Cry” has been played at nearly every Guns n’ Roses concert since its release. During a time when Ron Bumblefoot was the lead guitar player, he incorporated the song as part of his solo.
A version of Guns n’ Roses that sees Axl Rose reunite with Slash and Duff McKagan began touring in 2016 and continues to play “Don’t Cry” until the present day.
Unlike other famous power ballads, like “Free Bird” or “Dream On,” few famous bands have attempted to cover “Don’t Cry,” and that is probably for the best.
