November Rain Song Analysis

Guns N’ Roses is possibly the most popular band of the late eighties and early nineties hard rock scene. When you mention Guns N’ Roses most people think of the poster boys of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Yet what most people don’t think of is the sheer musical and lyrical mastery that this band possessed. Axl Rose possesses one of the most recognizable and best voices in rock music today. He could hit the highest notes and hit them louder than anyone ever had. Axl had and amazing talent of portraying his mood through the music of his band, and most importantly through his lyrics. November Rain by Guns N’ Roses uses very simple symbolism to show the message and mood of the singer.
November Rain is really a very simple song about a man who can’t seem to make a lasting relationship. He says, “’Cause nothin’ lasts forever/and we both know hearts can change.” The song goes through cycles of this person’s relationships as they begin and end. The line “its hard to hold a candle/in the cold November rain.” Has symbolism in it. The candle represents a relationship and the rain represents the hardship and misfortune.
This symbol of the November rain is repeated at the end of each verse. Every time this is repeated it signifies the end of yet another relationship. The singer tries to justify being alone by saying, “everybody needs some time on your own.” The singer is attempting to make himself feel better and show that being alone sometimes is a good thing. Yet at the end of the song background singers sing, “everybody needs somebody” which contradicts the other line in the song proving that the singer truly is lonely.
The music to this song really adds so much to the overall feeling of this song because when the singer’s relationships are going well the music is more up beat, and when the singer is going through a tough time the music feels more sad. Toward the end of the song the music changes drastically to have a very sad, almost angry, feeling to it. There are two other small symbols in this song. “And shadows still remain.” The shadows represent the doubt that the other person has about the relationship. “So never mind the darkness.” The darkness represents he bad parts of the relationship.
Guns N’ Roses redefined the rebellious nature of rock music. They blew the doors off of what we thought rock was and even though they are gone we still hear influence and inspiration emanating from this legendary band. Even though they could rock harder than anyone ever had, they also had a soft side that is beautifully heard in November Rain.