November Rain#Music video

Slash states in his autobiography that the band recorded in 1986 an 18-minute version of "November Rain" at a session with guitarist Manny Charlton (of rock band Nazareth) the year prior to beginning sessions for Appetite for Destruction.{{Rp|151}}

According to a story Axl Rose reported during the 2006 leg of the Chinese Democracy Tour, no other band members wanted to participate in the production of this song (or the other notable ballad "Estranged"). Slash and Duff McKagan were opposed to the band's drift to symphonic ballads, feeling their choice of more direct rock songs were being overlooked by Rose. Eventually, Rose persuaded the others during work at Can-Am Studios (where some of the album was recorded and mixed). Slash disputed Axl's claims of harsh musical differences in his autobiography released the next year.{{Rp|454}}

Slash reported that his guitar solo in the song's album version developed directly from an improvisation.{{Rp|316}}Select, November 1996

"November Rain" is the third-longest song by Guns N' Roses, behind "Coma" (10:14) from the same album, and "Estranged" (9:24) from Use Your Illusion II. It was the longest song ever to reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 until November 2021, when surpassed by Taylor Swift's extended rerecording of "All Too Well".2000 Guinness World Records {{ISBN|0-553-58268-2}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/gw-archive/50-greatest-guitar-solos|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712112814/http://www.guitarworld.com/50_greatest_solos?page=0%2C4|url-status=dead|title=50 Greatest Guitar Solos|first=Guitar World Staff 2009-01-29T16:56:08Z|last=Feature|archive-date=July 12, 2015|website=guitarworld|access-date=November 3, 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.enstarz.com/articles/223468/20211123/taylor-swift-guns-n-roses-meatloaf-david-bowie-songs-billboard-hot-100.htm |title=What Do Taylor Swift, Guns N' Roses, Meatloaf, and David Bowie Have In Common? | Enstars |date=November 23, 2021}} The song's composition was influenced by Elton John's 1973 opus "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding".

Its distinct symphonic overtone owes to a sweeping string arrangement, orchestrated by Rose.Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. New York: Harper Entertainment.{{Rp|318}}{{YouTube|reyENSLsp4s|Guns N' Roses – The Making of 'November Rain' (part 6)}} "We call it 'the Layla song'," joked Slash, referencing a similarly-constructed rock song with a long, instrumental second part.{{cite magazine|first=Mark|last=Rowland|title=LA Law and Disorder|magazine=Select, reprinted from Musician|date=February 1991|page=46}} It was later preceded by the coda from Layla on the Not in This Lifetime... Tour.

On November 4, 2022, the original track was re-released on a Use Your Illusion reissue, but with newly recorded orchestration replacing the sampled sounds used on the original mix. The orchestration consists of a real 50-piece orchestra, conducted and arranged by Christopher Lennertz.{{cite tweet |author-link=Christopher Lennertz |user=clennertz |number=1572280631316615170 |title=Been keeping this one quiet for far too long. Unbelievable experience! 18 year old me still thinks he was dreaming! |date=September 20, 2022}} The track was mixed by Steven Wilson.{{cite tweet |author=Steven Wilson remixes |user=swremixes |number=1572349924410286081 |title=The new 2022 version is the same performance as the original but with newly recorded orchestration |date=September 21, 2022}}{{cite tweet |author-link=Steven Wilson |user=stevenwilsonhq |number=1588861683828670471 |title=I mixed the new 2022 version of the @gunsnroses classic 'November Rain'|date=November 5, 2022}}

Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times wrote, "This sweeping ballad – reminiscent of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s most majestic work – underscores the ambition and range of the best and most volatile American hard-rock group in a decade."{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Hilburn|title=Dance Energy Saves Dreary '92: Year-End Review|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 31, 1992|page=|access-date=January 22, 2023|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-31-ca-4254-story.html|author-link=Robert Hilburn}} Dave Jennings from Melody Maker said, "There's probably no other band who can match the Gunners' ability to sound frighteningly real and then laughably crass in rapid succession. [...] On "November Rain", they fit both extremes into one nine-minute epic ballad."{{cite magazine|first=Dave|last=Jennings|title=Singles|magazine=Melody Maker|date=February 29, 1992|page=29|access-date=February 18, 2023|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52573176747/}} Another editor, Simon Reynolds, declared it as "a lush, swoony, mock-orchestral epic mid-way between Trevor Horn, Jim Steinman and 'Purple Rain'."{{cite magazine|first=Simon|last=Reynolds|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52449329140/|title=Albums|magazine=Melody Maker|date=September 21, 1991|page=32|access-date=May 1, 2023}} Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel viewed it as "a schlocky, over-produced ballad".Gettelman, Parry (September 27, 1991). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orlando-sentinel-guns-n-roses/137131438/ "Guns N' Roses"]. Orlando Sentinel. Richard Harrington from The Washington Post felt that in the wake of their breakthrough power ballad "Sweet Child o' Mine", Guns N'Roses "have wisely chosen to play to their female constituency" with "November Rain". He explained that the song "finds Axl in an Elton John mood with a piano, synthesized strings and the realization that while 'It's hard to hold a candle/ in the cold November rain,' we should 'never mind the darkness/ we can still find a way/ cause nothin' lasts forever/ even cold November rain.' On the other hand, at almost nine minutes, this song comes close."Harrington, Richard (September 15, 1991). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1991/09/15/guns-nroses-back-in-fighting-form/a67a6e1a-70b4-4597-880c-96f6d5d097e2/ "Guns N'Roses, Back in Fighting Form"]. The Washington Post. p. G01.

In the United States, the song peaked at number three for two weeks in 1992, making it Guns N' Roses' sixth and last top-10 hit. It stayed in the top 10 for 10 weeks and on the Hot 100 for 30 weeks.{{cite web | url=http://musicchartsarchive.com/singles/guns-n-roses/november-rain | title=November Rain | date=May 28, 2018 }} The song also peaked at number nine in Germany and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. In Australia, "November Rain" was ranked at number two on the 1992 end-of-year chart despite only reaching number five on the ARIA Singles Chart. It was included on ARIA's year-end charts in two consecutive years (1992 and 1993, when it appeared at 36). A similar situation took place in New Zealand, where the song peaked at number seven but stayed in the top 20 for 24 non-consecutive weeks, ending 1992 as New Zealand's second-best-selling single.

File:November-rain-dress.jpg]]

The accompanying music video for "November Rain", directed by Andy Morahan,{{cite web|url=http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=12342|title=Guns 'n' Roses – "November rain"|website=mvdbase.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329002459/http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=12342|archive-date=March 29, 2019}} was inspired by Del James's short story "Without You", for which he is credited in the long version of the video. The short story portrays a rock star struggling to come to terms with the loss of his girlfriend, who died by suicide (gunshot) after he repeatedly strayed from their relationship. November Rain is one of the most expensive music videos ever.{{cite web|url=http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/toptens/musicvideos/musicvideos.html#para1|title=SoYouWanna.com - Learn What You Wanna Do|website=Soyouwanna.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128104018/http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/toptens/musicvideos/musicvideos.html#para1|archive-date=November 28, 2006}}

The video tells a story reminiscent of "Without You", and features a live performance footage from Los Angeles' Orpheum Theater.{{cite web |url=http://kerrang.com/probably-far-too-forensic-analysis-of-guns-n-roses-november-rain-video |title=A Probably Far Too Forensic Analysis Of Guns N' Roses' November Rain Video |last=Rampton |first=Mike |website=Kerrang! |date=July 16, 2018}} First, in a silhouette, Rose's character is seen going to bed and taking pills; a bottle of whisky is also visible next to him. The scene, now in color, changes to the wedding of the main characters, played by Rose and his then-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour. The other band members are among the many guests.

Slash's character realizes he forgot the wedding rings, when McKagan's character offers his rings as a substitute. After the wedding couple leaves the church, we see the wedding reception which is later interrupted by sudden, heavy rain, causing everyone to run for shelter.

The next scene shows a funeral at the same church. Rose's character grieves at the death of his wife, now inside a casket with a mirrored object obscuring half of her face. A heavy rain falls upon the cemetery when the casket is laid to rest.

A final scene shows Seymour's character back at the wedding, tossing her white bouquet, which turns red in the air and lands on her coffin. Black and white scenes of Rose's character's nightmares show a mix of wedding and funeral scenes. The music video ends with Rose's character kneeling beside her grave and the bouquet turns back to white as the rain washes the red color away.

For the outside shots of Slash's first guitar solo, Rose had originally envisioned it taking place in a "cool field". However, since the video was shot in winter, there were no good-looking fields around, and the band decided to film in New Mexico, where they had a church building transported specifically for the shoot. The larger church, for the wedding scenes, is Los Angeles' St. Brendan Catholic Church.

The music videos for "November Rain", "Don't Cry" and "Estranged" form an unofficial trilogy of sorts. While never specifically confirmed by the band, Del James' short story "Without You" served as inspiration for the video, and received recognition in the video's end credits.

In July 2018, the music video became the first video created prior to YouTube to surpass one billion views.{{cite news |last=Thompson |first=Stephen |title='November Rain' Is The Oldest Song With A Billion YouTube Views – What's That Mean? |url=http://npr.org/2018/07/18/630184713 |access-date=August 25, 2018 |website=NPR |date=July 18, 2018 }}{{cite magazine|url=http://billboard.com/articles/business/8465516/guns-n-roses-break-youtube-record-november-rain-video|title=Guns N' Roses Break YouTube Record With 'November Rain' Video: Report|last=Milman|first=Lilly|date=July 16, 2018|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 30, 2019}} In February 2023, the music video reached another milestone after it surpassed two billion views and remaining the oldest song (from the early 1990s) to achieve that feat.{{cite news |last=Childers |first=Chad |title=Guns N' Roses' 'November Rain' Becomes First '90s Rock Video to Pass 2 Billion YouTube Views |url=https://classicrock961.com/guns-n-roses-november-rain-2-billion-youtube-views/ |access-date=February 15, 2023 |website=Classic Rock 96.1 |date=February 15, 2023 }}

The video was re-released in November 2022, with the newly-synced orchestration, to promote the Use Your Illusion (Super Deluxe Edition) box set.{{cite tweet |author-link=Guns N' Roses |user=gunsnroses |number=1588531518896480257 |title=November Rain (2022 Version) is here!|date=November 4, 2022}}

File:Axl Rose Nottingham 2012.JPG performing "November Rain" at Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, UK, in May 2012]]

The band performed a nearly nine-minute live version of the song with British musician Elton John on piano at the end of the 1992 VMAs ceremony.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/flashback-guns-n-roses-play-november-rain-with-elton-john-20130402|title=Flashback: Guns N' Roses Play 'November Rain' With Elton John|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=April 2, 2013|access-date=October 27, 2016}} On January 22, 2023, Rose performed a shortened, solo version of "November Rain" during the memorial service of Lisa Marie Presley in Graceland.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Mitchell |date=January 22, 2023 |title=Axl Rose Delivers Heartfelt Speech, Performs ‘November Rain’ at Lisa Marie Presley’s Graceland Memorial Service |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lisa-marie-presley-graceland-memorial-axl-rose-november-rain-1235203239/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007212911/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lisa-marie-presley-graceland-memorial-axl-rose-november-rain-1235203239/ |archive-date=October 7, 2024 |access-date=December 12, 2024 |website=Billboard}}

"November Rain" was voted number one on the Rock 1000 2006, an annual countdown of the top 1,000 rock songs by New Zealand radio listeners. It was voted number two on the 2007 version, beaten by "Back in Black" by AC/DC.{{cite web|url=http://www.therock.net.nz/Music/tabid/68/articleID/478/Default.aspx|title=The Rock - New Zealand's rock radio station}} The song topped the "album tracks" section of a 1993 readers' poll in GN'R fanzine Controversy, beating "Coma". The top ten was completed by "Estranged", "Civil War", "Paradise City", "Sweet Child o' Mine", "Don't Cry", "Welcome to the Jungle", "Patience" and "Mr. Brownstone".Controversy #6, p8, 1993

The song placed number 140 on Pitchfork's "Top 200 Tracks of the 90s".{{cite web|title=The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 150-101|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7850-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-150-101/2/|access-date=May 26, 2021|website=Pitchfork|page=2|archive-date=October 28, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028133735/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7850-the-top-200-tracks-of-the-1990s-150-101/2/|url-status=dead}} In Chile, the song placed at number 73 on Chilean radio Rock & Pop.{{cite web|url=http://www.rockandpop.cl/rp20-semana4/guns-n-roses-november-rain/|title=Guns N Roses - November Rain — Rock&Pop|date=December 24, 2012}} In 2017, Paste ranked the song number nine on their list of the 15 greatest Guns N' Roses songs,{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/guns-n-roses/the-15-best-guns-n-roses-songs/|title=The 15 Best Guns N' Roses Songs|first=Bryan|last=Rolli|website=Paste|date=September 27, 2017|access-date=April 27, 2022}} and in 2020, Kerrang ranked the song number six on their list of the 20 greatest Guns N' Roses songs.{{cite web|url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-20-greatest-guns-n-roses-songs-ranked|title=The 20 greatest Guns N' Roses songs – ranked|first=Sam|last=Law|website=Kerrang|date=October 8, 2020|access-date=April 27, 2022}}

NPR described the song as "one of the ultimate hard-rock power ballads", while VH1 added that the song "is the sprawling, cosmic-reaching, just-so-insane-it-works hard rock epic toward which every previous single-track hard rock epic had led and from which every subsequent single-track hard rock epic has emerged".{{cite web|last=McPadden|first=Mike|date=July 23, 2015|title=Slash Turns 50: Rock With His 10 Greatest Guitar Moments|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/cjpfdj/slash-best-guitar-moments|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817221705/https://www.vh1.com/news/cjpfdj/slash-best-guitar-moments|url-status=live|archive-date=August 17, 2022|access-date=May 26, 2021|website=VH1}} Glide Magazine named the song at second in their list of "Favorite Hair-Metal Power Ballads".{{cite web|last=Bernstein|first=Scott|date=January 4, 2007|title=THE B List: Favorite Hair-Metal Power Ballads|url=https://glidemagazine.com/133653/the-b-list-favorite-hair-metal-power-ballads/|access-date=February 24, 2021|website=Glide Magazine}}

As of October 2024, November Rain is the most viewed song on YouTube released in the 1990s.

{{Track listing

| headline = CD maxi

| title1 = November Rain

| writer1 = Axl Rose

| length1 = 8:57

| title2 = Sweet Child o' Mine

| writer2 = Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler

| length2 = 5:55

| title3 = Patience

| writer3 = Stradlin

| length3 = 5:53

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Cassingle

| title1 = November Rain

| writer1 = Rose

| length1 = 8:57

| title2 = Sweet Child o' Mine

| writer2 = Rose, Stradlin, Slash, McKagan, Adler

| length2 = 5:55

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 7-inch maxi

| title1 = November Rain

| writer1 = Rose

| length1 = 8:57

| title2 = Sweet Child o' Mine

| writer2 = Rose, Stradlin, Slash, McKagan, Adler

| length2 = 5:55

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 12-inch maxi

| title1 = November Rain

| writer1 = Rose

| length1 = 8:57

| title2 = Sweet Child o' Mine

| writer2 = Rose, Stradlin, Slash, McKagan, Adler

| length2 = 5:55

| title3 = Patience

| writer3 = Stradlin

| length3 = 5:53

}}

Guns N' Roses

• W. Axl Rose – lead and backing vocals, piano, string synthesizer, choir
• Slash – lead guitar, backing vocals, choir
• Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, choir
• Duff McKagan – bass guitar, backing vocals, choir
• Matt Sorum – drums, backing vocals, choir
• Dizzy Reed – backing vocals, choir

Additional musicians

• Stuart Bailey – backing vocals, choir
• Shannon Hoon – backing vocals, choir
• Johann Langlie – synthesizer programming
• Reba Shaw – backing vocals, choir

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|award=Platinum|number=4|type=single|relyear=1992|certyear=2021|access-date=July 7, 2021}}

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{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Guns N' Roses|title=November Rain|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1992|certyear=1992|access-date=December 31, 2015}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=Guns N' Roses|title=November Rain|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=1991|certyear=2017|access-date=April 26, 2017}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Netherlands|artist=Guns 'n' Roses|title=November Rain|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1992|certyear=1992|access-date=February 22, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Guns N' Roses|title=November Rain|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=1992|id=1992-10-02|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|certyear=1992}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Guns N' Roses|title=November Rain|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=1992|certyear=2020|id=8962-145-1|access-date=September 24, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Guns N' Roses|title=November Rain|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=1992|certyear=1992|access-date=December 31, 2015}}

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{{Reflist}}

{{portal|1990s|rock music}}

{{Guns N' Roses}}

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Category:1990s ballads

Category:1991 songs

Category:1992 singles

Category:Geffen Records singles

Category:Guns N' Roses songs

Category:Hard rock ballads

Category:Music videos directed by Andy Morahan

Category:Songs about heartache

Category:Songs about weather

Category:Songs written by Axl Rose