Don't Cry - Guns N' Roses | Released: September 1991 | Albums: Use Your Illusion I & II The song where Axl Rose almost shot himself. Written in five minutes. With two versions, a secret third demo, and Shannon Hoon singing harmony. THE ORIGIN STORY: In March 1985, shortly after Guns N' Roses formed in Los Angeles, Axl Rose was sitting outside the Roxy on Sunset Strip. He was in love with a woman—Izzy Stradlin's ex-girlfriend—and she was telling him goodbye. She knew it wasn't going to work. Axl started crying. She looked at him and said two words: "Don't cry." The next night, Axl went to Izzy's apartment. He threw rocks at the window. Izzy came to the window, worried Axl was there to kick his ass—they'd been in an argument for months. Instead, Axl said: "I got some really depressing lyrics." Izzy replied: "I got a really depressing guitar part." Axl later recalled: "I was like, 'Perfect, we got it made.'" They wrote "Don't Cry" in five minutes . THE THREE VERSIONS: Most people don't know: "Don't Cry" exists in three versions : · Original lyrics – on Use Your Illusion I · Alternate lyrics – on Use Your Illusion II (different verses, same chorus) · Demo version – recorded in 1985, released only on the single Only the vocal tracks differ. The music is the same. Axl took one song and wrote two different heartbreaks for it. THE SHANNON HOON CONNECTION: Shannon Hoon—lead singer of Blind Melon—grew up in Indiana, same as Axl. They met in Los Angeles and became friends. Axl asked Shannon to sing on "Don't Cry," and his harmony vocal sits an octave higher than Axl's, placed further back in the mix. Slash later wrote in his autobiography that Hoon's voice "made that song all the more soulful" . CHART SUCCESS: · No. 10 – Billboard Hot 100 (19 weeks on the chart) · No. 1 – Ireland, Finland, Portugal · No. 2 – New Zealand, Norway · No. 3 – Switzerland, Denmark · No. 5 – Australia · No. 8 – UK · Gold certification – US (500,000+ copies) THE MUSIC VIDEO THAT ALMOST KILLED AXL: The video—directed by Andy Morahan and Mark Racco—was based on Axl's real life. The scene where Stephanie Seymour wrestles a gun away from Axl? That actually happened with his ex-wife Erin Everly. Axl was going to shoot himself. She fought him for the gun and won. The drowning scene was the hardest to film. Axl nearly drowned shooting it . WHERE'S IZZY? Izzy Stradlin co-wrote the song—but he didn't show up for the video shoot. A month later, he quit the band. In the video, Slash can be seen holding a handwritten sign: "Where's Izzy?" . THE ROXY OUTSIDE THE ROXY: The song's origin is etched into rock history. The girl who told Axl "don't cry"? She was Izzy's ex. Axl was crying outside the Roxy. The next night, they wrote the song. Five minutes. That's all it took . Follow @CommonChordUSA for the moments when music becomes memory. Explore the gear behind the sound → link in bio #FYP #viral2026 #GunsNRoses #ClassicRock #CommonChordUSA Don't Cry - Guns N' Roses - @commonchordusa