"Don't Cry" is a power ballad by the American hard rock bandGuns N' Roses, 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, while the version with the alternate lyrics is the 13th track on Use Your Illusion II. 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. The song reached the top 10 in many countries, including peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the US BillboardHot 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. Additionally, the song reached number two in New Zealand and Norway and peaked within the top five in Australia, Denmark and Switzerland.
Composition & Recording
Stradlin and Rose wrote the song in March 1985, shortly after Guns N' Roses was formed in Los Angeles. In the Special Collector’s Edition of Rolling Stone dedicated to the band, Kory Grow quotes Rose: After a low guitar drone, the song evolves into a hard rock lullaby that turns into a hard-hearted kiss-off, ending with an edgy, sustained vocal drone that is more scary than reassuring. In his book Over the Top: The True Story of Guns N' Roses, Mark Putterford notes the song's contrast with much of the other material on the Illusion albums, citing Rose's "deeply ingrained whore/madonna dichotomy" and his "dew-eyed romantic cooing with tenderness." "Don't Cry" features Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon as a co-lead vocalist. Hoon sings an octave higher than Rose, and his voice is placed further back in the mix. In his autobiography, Slash states that Hoon's harmony vocal "made that song all the more soulful." Along with "Estranged" and "November Rain," it forms a narrative inspired in part by the short story "Without You" by Del James. The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's fifth Top 10 hit there.
Music video
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: Izzy Stradlin had left the band 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 fan can be seen holding up a sign saying 'Where's Izzy' in the video. Stradlin later deemed the multi-million dollar video "a pointless indulgence."
Live performances
"Don't Cry" was performed quite frequently during the early tours and the Use Your Illusion Tour. It was absent from the early legs of the Chinese Democracy Tour but reappeared to an extent in 2006, as guitarist Bumblefoot began using an instrumental version of the song as a guitar solo spot. In 2007, during the Bumblefoot solo spot, Axl came on stage to sing along to the solo on two occasions, marking the first times since 1993 that Axl had sung it live. "Don't Cry" made another return during the 2009/2010 World Tour, with Axl singing along with the solo spot on each occasion that it has been played. A recording of the song from the Tokyo Dome was released on the albumLive Era '87–'93 and a VHS/DVD.
