"Used to Love Her"
Song by Guns N' Roses
from the album G N' R Lies
ReleasedNovember 29, 1988 (1988-11-29)
Recorded1988
GenreRoots rock[1]
Length3:13
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)Guns N' Roses
Producer(s)Guns N' Roses, Mike Clink

"Used to Love Her" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses from the 1988 album G N' R Lies. The song was used as a B-side on some releases of the "Paradise City" single.[2]

Background

Contrary to popular belief that the song is about a girlfriend of Axl Rose, the song was written as a joke. Izzy Stradlin stated, "I was sitting around listening to the radio and some guy was whining about a broad who was treating him bad. I wanted to take the radio and smash it against the wall. Such self-pity! What a wimp! So we rewrote the same song we heard with a better ending."[3] Rose would later say that the song that inspired Stradlin was from the band Great White.[4]

Live performances

The band debuted the song live at CBGB in October 1987, during the Appetite for Destruction Tour.[5] The song has been a live staple at Guns N' Roses concerts.[6] After last being played with the previous lineup in 1993, the song re-debuted in 2006 during the Chinese Democracy Tour.[7] It was played at every tour since, being played by the reunited lineup in 2016 during the Not In This Lifetime... Tour stop at Coachella.[8]

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the song as a "country-fried boogie", but criticized it as misogynistic.[9] Rolling Stone described it as a "hilarious countryish number that will probably have feminist hot lines jammed across the country".[10]

In 2016, Spin ranked the song 42nd out of 79 on their rankings of every Guns N' Roses song, saying "strip away the misogynist, dark, and twisted fantasy, though, and you’ve got a terrific, rootsy little mimic of an Allman Brothers’ on-the-road jam."[11] That same year, Medium ranked the song 20th out of 80, stating "The crowning achievement of the “remember this was written in 1988 [1987]; that doesn’t make it right, but still” manifesto that encompasses so much of Guns' oeuvre."[12] L.A. Weekly ranked the song 18th of 64,[13] and Ultimate Classic Rock ranked it 28th out of 80.[14]

In 2018, Loudwire ranked the song 83rd out of 87, stating "This song feels like their attempt at the Stones’ “Dead Flowers”... The song was likely meant to be taken with a grain of salt, but that was tough to swallow given that Axl’s ex-wife Erin Everly accused him of domestic abuse."[15] Houston Press named the song 5th on their list of "10 Worst Guns N' Roses Songs".[16]

Cover versions

White Lung covered the song as part of a SiriusXMU live session.[17][18][19] In February 2018, Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus joined Blackberry Smoke on stage to cover the song.[6] L7 released a cover of the song as the B-side to their 1992 single "Monster", changing the lyric and title to "Used to Love Him".[20]

References

  1. ↑ Rolli, Bryan (August 6, 2022). "The 10 Weirdest Guns N' Roses Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Guns N' Roses - Paradise City".
  3. ↑ "One-on-one with Guns N' Roses' gutsy guitarist Izzy Stradlin". Superstar Facts & Pics (16). 1988. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ Tavana, Art (2021). Goodbye, Guns N' Roses: The Crime, Beauty, and Amplified Chaos of America's Most Polarizing Band. ECW Press. ISBN 9781773057262.
  5. ↑ Greene, Andy (March 1, 2016). "Flashback: Guns N' Roses Perform Acoustic CBGB Set in 1987". Rolling Stone.
  6. 1 2 Gage, Jeff (February 20, 2018). "See Blackberry Smoke, Richard Fortus Play Guns N' Roses' 'Used to Love Her'". Rolling Stone.
  7. ↑ "Here Today... Gone To Hell! - Guns N' Roses History". www.heretodaygonetohell.com.
  8. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (April 24, 2016). "See Guns N' Roses Bring Back 'Used to Love Her' at Coachella". Rolling Stone.
  9. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "G N' R Lies - Guns N' Roses - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  10. ↑ Neely, Kim (January 26, 1989). "G N' R Lies". Rolling Stone.
  11. ↑ "Every Guns N' Roses Song, Ranked". Spin. February 19, 2016. p. 2.
  12. ↑ Busbee, Jay (July 30, 2016). "All 80 Guns N' Roses Songs, Ranked". Medium.
  13. ↑ Tavana, Art (February 18, 2016). "The Ultimate Ranking of Every Guns N' Roses Song". LA Weekly.
  14. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo (December 10, 2015). "Every Guns N' Roses Song Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  15. ↑ "Every Guns N' Roses Song Ranked, Worst to Best". Loudwire. June 27, 2018.
  16. ↑ Rouner, Jef (May 21, 2015). "The 10 Worst Guns N' Roses Songs". Houston Press.
  17. ↑ Lozano, Kevin (June 16, 2016). "White Lung Covers Guns N' Roses' "Used to Love Her": Listen". Pitchfork.
  18. ↑ Darville, Jordan (June 16, 2016). "Mish Way Of White Lung Covers Guns N' Roses's "Used To Love Her"". The Fader.
  19. ↑ Rettig, James (June 16, 2016). "Hear White Lung's Mish Barber-Way Cover Guns N' Roses' "Used To Love Her"". Stereogum.
  20. ↑ "L7 - Monster". Discogs. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
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