November Rain by Guns N’ Roses

"November Rain" music video

"November Rain" live performance

What makes a song epic? Is it the length, the instrumentation or is it simply the way the feelings that are expressed? The definition of what is epic is not a technical or an objective idea but rather a term that is thrown around to describe a song that stands out capturing something extraordinary.

Throughout the history of rock music, there have been many songs that people consider “epic.” People often thing of epic songs as being long and containing multiple sections like Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin. I’m not sure what song I would consider the most epic song but I do know the one song that introduced me to this potential in rock music and that was “November Rain.”

In 1992, when Guns N’ Roses released “November Rain” it blew my mind. At that time I was ten years old and wasn’t interested in rock music. The other songs by Guns N’ Roses seemed too “hard,” too much like “noise” (my opinion has since changed) and I ignored most of their music. However, “November Rain” was different. Maybe it was the piano, or the slow build but the song felt different. Some may have viewed the first section of this song as not rocking as hard as their other music but for me it was exactly that reason which was why it appealed to me.

Coming out of a time when rock stars seemed more concerned with how big they could tease out their hair, Guns N’ Roses rejuvenated the rock scene. Axl Rose’s raspy rock voices, the lead guitar player, Slash’s aggressive sound and mind-blowing technique along with the rest of band created some of the most interesting and refreshing music in rock. “November Rain” was featured on Guns N’ Roses’ third album Use Your Illusion I.

“November Rain” is an insightful and honest contemplation of the hope, doubt and reality of love. The song begins like the sun rising. Synthesized strings grow with the first chord of the electric guitar glistening in the light. Against the back drop of a synthesized flute, Axl’s voice enter which could not be more real.

When rock singers sing they often put a slight edge in their voice as they reach high notes. Axl has that edge in his voice throughout his entire range. There is a maturity in this voice like a man who has lived a life of pain and although the voice is ragged, it has a sort of elegance as it flows through the melody line.

In the first section main section of the song (the first 6 minutes and 45 seconds). Axl slowly builds with a deliberate and contemplative pace.

When I look into your eyes, I can see a love restrained,
But darling when I hold you, don't you know I feel the same.

'Cause nothing lasts forever and we both know hearts can change,
And it's hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain.

The song opens with a request to love in the present. Axl expresses empathy throughout the song as he does in the second line. The theme of destiny are introduced with this idea of change. The words “November rain” appear for the first time symbolizing the inevitability of change and candle is the love that must fight against this. In this next section, Axl reflects on the relationship and elaborates on this idea of destiny.

We've been through this such a long, long time just trying to kill the pain.
But lovers always come and lovers always go
and no one's really sure who's letting go today, walking away.

If we could take the time to lay it on the line,
I could rest my head just knowing that you were mine all mine.
So if you want to love me then darling don't refrain,
Or I'll just end up walking in the cold November rain.

Axl asserts that if we embrace the future, the reality of the fact that things are uncertain and hard then people could love each other. If she doesn’t love him now, he’ll end up walking the November rain which changes from the broad idea of destiny to personal loneliness.

Then the song takes different turn, the song washes out into a mixture of harmonic colors as Axl asks if “you need some time alone.” He comforts his love saying that everyone needs some time alone. These lines have a sense of sadness as we often take it personally when someone we care about says they need to be alone because at these time we often don’t want to be alone. By washing out the sound, the song provides more contrast and drama as it builds into the next section. Guitars explode in broad strokes of musical color as Axl sings reassuring his love in a more assertive and aggressive way.

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 hear, wouldn't time be out to charm you?

After “harm you” a mourning guitar lick reflects the struggle in the lyrics which foreshadows the end of the song. The song builds to the first guitar solo of the song, which expresses the time alone that Axl previously sings about. Like the music that came before the solo doesn’t feel rushed or hurried. There is not of showing off in the solo and like great Jazz solos, Slash doesn’t try to fill every beat with something but instead sustains notes artfully developing simple melodic ideas.

Axl follows this going back to the “need some time” section flipping it from “you” to “I” which Slash immediately follows by another shorter guitar solo. The guitar is another voice in this song expressing the longing and solitude of the song. Both guitar solos act as subtext creating space for us to reflect on the song and contemplate the feelings within the song. The end of this section pulls together these feelings coming to a conclusion in a powerful statement of destiny.

And when your fears subside and shadows still remain
I know that you can love me when there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness we still can find a way
Nothing lasts forever even cold November rain

Axl assures us that we can move past fear in our lives but reminds us that it always leave shadow in our lives, the memory of that fear. He assures that through that darkness, they is a way to love. This section ends with the most powerful line of the song stating that nothing last forever. November rain first symbolizes the destiny of change and then reflects personal loneliness. Axl discounts these things in this section saying that these things don’t last forever. However, in this reassurance saying that “nothing” last forever he is also embracing the idea that their love will not last forever.

After the triumphant ending of the first section, a hurried and frantic piano enters followed by raw guitars and a demonic guitar melody. A distorted and angry voices growls “don't you think that you need somebody, everybody needs somebody
you're not the only one.” Instead of a comforting reassurance of these feeling an angry voice that violently tries to convince that loneliness is universal. Axl expresses a level of optimism in the first section and then shows us the other side, the pessimism, the darkness and the doubt. Does this symbolize the relationship that Axl sings about in the first section ending or is this what Axl believes about the destiny that we all have to face?

This song moves through time with a deliberate pace and feels like it’s long without feeling drawn out. The different sections of the songs seamlessly move into each other and the guitar solos come in the perfect place to give us a change in the sound and time to reflect. Even though the song feels epic, it doesn’t tell a grand story but instead is personal and reflective. In this way the epic nature in “November Rain” becomes a personal journey speaking to fears and question that we have in our own lives.

Nothing lasts forever but that is what gives things meanings and makes us cherish the times that we have. This realization may seem to limit us but when we accept it, it frees us from fear and doubt and in that, through our lives, through love that we find ourselves.