Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine

About The Song

After spending a year building a following in hard rock circles, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” was the song that pushed the Los Angeles quintet Guns N’ Roses into the pop mainstream, hitting Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1988.

“Sweet Child O’ Mine” was inspired by frontman Axl Rose‘s then-girlfriend, Erin Everly, the daughter of the Everly Brothers‘ Phil Everly. Rose recalled that “I had written this poem, reached a dead end with it and put it on the shelf. Then Slash and Izzy (Stradlin) got working together on songs and I came in, Izzy hit a rhythm, and all of a sudden the poem popped into my head. It just all came together. A lot of rock bands are too… wimpy to have any emotion in any of their stuff unless they’re in pain. It’s the first positive love song I’ve ever written, but I never had anyone to write anything that positive about, I guess.”

Geffen insisted on editing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” from six to four minutes for the single, which angered Rose. “I hate the edit of ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine,'” he told Rolling Stone magazine. “Radio stations said, ‘Well, your vocals aren’t cut.’ My favorite part of the song is Slash’s slow solo; it’s the heaviest part for me. There’s no reason for it to be missing except to create more space for commercials so the radio station owners can get more advertising dollars. When you get the chopped version… you’re getting screwed.”

Despite the sweetness of the song, Rose has acknowledged that his relationship with Everly was “extremely volatile.”

“Sweet Child” was named Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Single at the 1989 American Music Awards. It also won the Best Heavy Metal Video award at the 1989 MTV Music Video Awards.

Video

https://youtu.be/HlEuo9aR7Qo

Guns N' Roses – Sweet Child O' Mine (Alternate Version) (https://youtu.be/HlEuo9aR7Qo)

Lyrics

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 (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-oh-oh! 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-oh-oh! Sweet child o’ mine
Ooh, oh-oh-oh! Sweet love of mine

Oh yeah! Whoa-oh-oh-oh! Sweet child o’ mine
Ooh-oh, oh, oh! Sweet love of mine
Whoa, oh-oh-oh! Sweet child o’ mine, ooh yeah
Ooh! Sweet love of mine

Where do we go?
Where do we go now?
Where do we go?
Ooh, where do we go?
Where do we go now?
Oh, where do we go now?
Where do we go? (Sweet child)
Ooh, where do we go now?
Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay
Where do we go now? Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, wow
Where do we go?
Oh, where do we go now?
Oh, where do we go?
Where do we go now?
Where do we go?
Ooh, where do we go now?
Now, now, now, now, now, now, now
Sweet child, sweet child o’ mine