Don’t Cry is a song by the Guns N’ Roses, released in September 1991, two versions of which were released simultaneously on different albums. The version with the original lyrics is the fourth track on Use Your Illusion I (1991), while the version with the alternate lyrics is the 13th track on Use Your Illusion II (1991).
Only the vocal tracks differ, and even then only in the verses; however, in those verses, not only are the words entirely different, but the meter and melody are also slightly different. There is also a third version, officially released only on the single for the song, which was recorded during Appetite for Destruction sessions in 1986.
Referred to as a power ballad, Don’t Cry reached the top 10 in many countries, including peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In Ireland, Don’t Cry became Guns N’ Roses‘ second number-one single, and in Finland, it became the second number-one hit from the Use Your Illusion albums. The song also topped Portugal’s music chart, reached number two in New Zealand and Norway, and peaked within the top five in Australia, Denmark, and Switzerland. Andy Morahan and Mark Racco directed its accompanying music video.
Stradlin and Rose wrote the song (with the working title “Don’t You Cry Tonight”) in March 1985, shortly after Guns N’ Roses was formed in Los Angeles. In fact, at a show in Atlantic City, NJ on September 12, 2021, Rose claimed it was:
“The first song that was written for Guns N’ Roses” .
In the 1993 video Don’t Cry: Makin’ F@*!ing Videos Part I Rose says that
“Don’t Cry” was their most Hanoi Rocks -influenced song.
Tracklist:
- Don’t Cry (original)
- Don’t Cry (alt. lyrics)
The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan and Mark Racco. John Linson was the producer of the video.
Rose commented on the difficulty of filming the video and how certain scenes inspired by his relationship with Erin Everly affected him emotionally:
“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?”
Izzy Stradlin did not attend the music video shoot by the time the band came to film the video and therefore does not appear in the video for the song he co-wrote. A month later, it was announced he had quit the band. A sign saying ‘Where’s Izzy’ can be seen in the video. Stradlin later deemed the multi-million dollar video “a pointless indulgence”.
Axl Rose also briefly wore a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap in the video. This is possibly a reference to the Riverport Riot that occurred after Guns N’ Roses performed at the Riverport Ampitheater in St. Louis on July 2, 1991. They were banned from performing there again, but played there again on July 27, 2017 on the Not In This Lifetime… Tour.
Guns N’ Roses
W. Axl Rose: lead vocals
Slash: lead guitar
Izzy Stradlin: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Duff McKagan: bass, backing vocals
Matt Sorum: drums
Dizzy Reed: keyboard
Additional musicians
Shannon Hoon: co-lead vocals
Steven Adler: drums (demo version)
Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995)
