Sweet Child O' Mine

Sweet Child O' Mine is a song by Guns N' Roses.

Many consider it to be the best song that the band put out. While that is debatable, the fame of the song is not. It has been referenced by countless publications as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

Slash used the now famous guitar riff from this song as a warm up exercise. At some point Izzy heard him playing it and began to jam along with some chords. Duff and Steven jumped in and the song started to take form. Axl Rose actually did not work directly with the others. He heard them playing the song while he remained in his room and thought of lyrics to it. Things came together and Sweet Child O' Mine was created.

The version they originally played was well received but it was agreed that it needed a section where the music died down a bit and built back up.

The band was somewhat stumped and Axl began asking "Where do we go now?" "Where do we go?". A suggestion was made that he just say those words.

Trivia

• At GPFontaine's wedding this song was played at the conclusion of the ceremony as GPFontaine and his new wife walked together down the aisle.
• GPFontaine sucks at the guitar, but did learn how to play the intro riff to this song.
• For 4 years this was the ringtone on GPFontaine's cell phone. (It is now the intro to My Michelle.)
• Ross Rifle is also a huge fan of the song, as it was his lullaby.
• It is also Ross Rifle's ringtone.

The Sheryl Crow version

• Sheryl Crow is a cunt and her version of "Sweet Child O' Mine" sucks. It also won a Grammy, which helps drive home the fact that the Grammys are bullshit awards and should not be taken as seriously as the American Music Awards.

- SydLexia

• I am not sure if there is any version of any song that I hate with as much passion as I do Sheryl Crow's version of Sweet Child O' Mine. This atrocity is nothing short of proof that there is pure evil in this world.

Other Versions

The problems with other bands covering "Sweet Child O Mine" are mainly two fold:

• The Sheryl Crow version has inspired many toned-down, acoustic versions sung by females, who switch the lyrics to make them about a guy, thus taking away from the very personal nature of the original.
• It is rare that someone successfully imitates Slash's tone in the opening riff. Most people even omit the distortion. As a result, all covers sound weak, as playing the opening riff so it's beefed to the shit is essential in ensuring the rest of the song is powerful. That's the power of a wicked riff baby.
  • Slash recorded this song with an amplifier that he was borrowing. It was a uniquely modified amp when he got it and after the record was put out he returned it. Unfortunately he was never able to reproduce the sound as it was done on the album because of this. This makes new studio recordings of the songs seem less authentic. Still live shows are not brought down by this because an exact studio sound isn't expected.