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When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain
But lovers always come and lovers always go
An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away
If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
just knowin' that you were mine
All mine
So if you want to love me
then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
in the cold November rain
Do you need some time.. on your own
Do you need some time.. all alone
Everybody needs some time.. on their own
Don't you know you need some time.. all alone
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you
Sometimes I need some time.. on my own
Sometimes I need some time.. all alone
Everybody needs some time.. on their own
Don't you know you need some time.. all alone
And when your fears subside
and shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
when there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
we still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
even cold November rain
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain
But lovers always come and lovers always go
An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away
If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
just knowin' that you were mine
All mine
So if you want to love me
then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
in the cold November rain
Do you need some time.. on your own
Do you need some time.. all alone
Everybody needs some time.. on their own
Don't you know you need some time.. all alone
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you
Sometimes I need some time.. on my own
Sometimes I need some time.. all alone
Everybody needs some time.. on their own
Don't you know you need some time.. all alone
And when your fears subside
and shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
when there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
we still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
even cold November rain
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Lyrics submitted by mike
Track duration: 08:57
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It's about love pure and simple.
Sometimes love just doesn't last long.
All we can do is put yesterdays in the past where they belong
This song is absolutely fabulous, and my favourite of all time. The emotional intensity of the lyrics combines beautifully with the soaring melodies to take the listener on a journey from despair into hope. I'll now offer my interpretation of the lyrics, which I feel is true to Axl's original intention.
As Axl says, the song is about unrequited love. He is still very much in love with a woman, but she is no longer in love with him. He uses a metaphor to express how difficult it is to cope with unrequited love:
"It's hard to hold a candle, in the cold November rain."
Here, holding the candle stands for him trying to hold onto his love for her, while the cold November rain is the absence of her love. It is difficult to love someone who does not return the feeling. And inevitably, his love will also die, just as the candle will be extinguished by the rain. He does not want this to happen, but eventually it will, unless she can recover her love.
So that's the central message. I'll now do it fully, lyric by lyric.
"When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained"
- her love for him is no longer present, but he sees how it can be recovered. He feels that it is merely buried beneath the surface, so that she doesn't feel it. However, it is possible to unearth it once again, as it is still very much in existence.
"But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same"
- he is still in love with her, although she doesn't realise it. The use of "hold you" suggests the couple is still in a relationship, although they are simply going through the motions of one rather than actively participating. In theory they are both single, they just haven't officially broken up, but the love is gone.
''Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change"
- he is hopeful that this absence of love will pass, and sees the potential for her to fall back in love - 'hearts can change'.
"And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain"
- this is the metaphor for unrequited love, which I explained above.
"We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain"
- the relationship is a long term one, and it is possibly a case of 'familiarity breeds contempt' in the case of the woman. The relationship has long since stagnated and both have found ways of coping with the pain this has caused, rather than trying to heal it.
"But lovers always come and lovers always go
An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away"
- She has had several affairs in an attempt to find feelings of love outside of the stagnant relationship, but they are only temporary. Her deep, buried love for her partner is preventing her from leaving the relationship outright. These affairs have created confusion as it is difficult to separate the feelings of lust she feels for her lovers from what she feels for her partner and so neither of them know whether the next affair is the one that will end the relationship or whether the lover will be the one to walk away.
"If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
just knowin' that you were mine
All mine"
- if they were to actually stop and discuss the future of the relationship and make a final decision, it would put him out of his misery as he feels that she would choose to stay with him and end the affairs.
"So if you want to love me
then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
in the cold November rain"
- If she has any love left for him he wants her to show him and let him know. Otherwise he'll remain in misery due to his love being unrequited. There is also a suggestion he might choose to leave the relationship - 'walking'. But if so, it will certainly be difficult to do so and he will suffer greatly.
"Do you need some time.. on your own
Do you need some time.. all alone
Everybody needs some time.. on their own
Don't you know you need some time.. all alone"
- a reminder that until we are happy within ourselves we cannot be happy within a relationship. He is suggesting that a personal problem is manifesting itself in her inability to maintain a relationship. He wants her to take the time to heal her inner problems, which in turn will enable her to acknowledge her love for him, thus healing the relationship.
"I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you"
- she has been hurt by those closest to her in the past and so she has closed herself off and will not allow herself to develop a strong relationship in case she gets hurt again. She has built a wall between herself and him.
"But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you"
- if she could heal herself and recover from the pain in her past, the future will be good, i.e. the relationship will be able to flourish.
"Sometimes I need some time.. on my own
Sometimes I need some time.. all alone
Everybody needs some time.. on their own
Don't you know you need some time.. all alone"
- He also needs to take a step back from the relationship, for his own well-being. We all need time to ourselves, one cannot exist solely through others. Our relationships do not define us. She has allowed herself to be defined by her relationships and so has been hurt more than others when the relationships have collapsed. She is now afraid to enter new relationships in attempt to avoid similar hurt in the future. He's telling her she has to take a step back and re-evaluate this, taking some time to herself.
"And when your fears subside
and shadows still remain"
- she must slowly take tentative steps back into the relationship, although it will be difficult at first. Gradually she will become more confident, although doubts will linger.
"I know that you can love me
when there's no one left to blame"
- once she has recovered from past hurts she will be able to rediscover her love for him. She must remove the wall she has built up as a result of pain others have caused her, i.e. 'when there's no one left to blame'. When she does this the love will blossom once more.
'So never mind the darkness
we still can find a way'
- although the absence of her love currently seems hopeless, (darkness is traditionally a symbol of hopelessness. November is a dark, wintry month and rain cloud is heavy, overcast and dull. As previously mentioned, the November rain is a metaphor for the absence of her love.) he sees a way out, back to a loving relationship.
"'Cause nothin' lasts forever
even cold November rain"
- now he inverts the previous metaphor into one of hope. Just as earlier he said that love doesn't last forever, now he reminds us that if love doesn't last forever, neither does the absence of love. This unrequited love will pass and the relationship will flourish once more. There is hope.
*Here the music changes completely from the more melodious orchestra to what sounds like a breakdown, with wailing guitars and sinister chanting. Although there is hope for the future, the current situation is still causing him immense pain.*
"Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one"
- Although earlier he said everyone needs to be alone, now he says everybody needs somebody else. He is desperate for this relationship to work and he wants her to want him and needs her to need him. There is an almost accusatory tone as he warns 'you're not the only one' - he resents the pain that she has caused him.
As for the meaning. I never really knew until recently. This is what I think it is about. The girl he is in love with is suffering from chronic depression. She does love the singer, and he obviously loves her, but for whatever reason, probably do to her depression, she is afraid of their love, and she always holds back. "Love Restrained"
She instead always seems to end up in relationships with people that are bad for her. They may cheat on her, or beat her, but they are not good for her. Some people commonly do this subconsciously, because they sabotage themselves from having the real love with the right person who truly does love them like the singer. That's where the lines:
"We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain
But lovers always come and lovers always go
An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away"
come from.
Basically, he knows he can love her, but he knows she needs to learn to love herself first. That's what he is saying in this part. She brings him so much love and happiness, but never enough, as she is always holding her love back. Walking in the cold November Rain is him being alone waiting for her to come back to him and love him.
"If we could take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
just knowin' that you were mine
All mine
So if you want to love me
then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
in the cold November rain"
The singer has spent a good bit of time by himself in the meantime, and he has learned to love himself, and being alone. That is a big problem for people that are chronically depressed, and that is why they are often depressed. They let fear over power their love, and fear brings negativity, and pain. That's where the whole last part of the song comes together:
"Sometimes I need some time.. on my own
Sometimes I need some time.. all alone
Everybody needs some time.. on their own
Don't you know you need some time.. all alone
And when your fears subside
and shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
when there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
we still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
even cold November rain
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one"
So basically he is hoping she can overcome her depression, and let love into her life, and they can finally experience true, real, deep, passionate, love together.
I may be way off on this, but it makes sense to me, and that is what I get out of it.
"Everybody needs somebody, everybody needs someone." I will never forget 7-19-09- 12-11-11. I will love you in my heart forever Chelesa. Be happy. That is my birthday wish to you.
Here's the link to 'Without you' it's a little long, but definitely worth it. If you liked this song, you'll love the story. Once you read the story, listen to the song again, and you'll notice how disturbing it really is!
Also, everyone needs to stop obsessing over Slash. The man hasn't written a decent riff since Use Your Illusion I & II. Axl Rose IS GNR. Chinese Demo is actually a fantastic album if you take the time to listen to it, and try to keep an open mind. It makes me sick how people are so quick to judge and accept everything negative about Axl without taking the time to actually listen to what he has to say on the matter. Slash depicts himself as this Rock God, and yes, he is talented, but he is by no means GNR. If he was, GNR wouldn't be the legend it is today. Honestly, Slash and Axl balance each other out. Without Axl, you get Velvet Revolver, mediocrity incarnate. Without Slash, you get Chinese Demo. which isn't bad at all, but could use some polishing up. Axl went completely hedonistic in this album. It's litterally all about him, his opinions, his life. What I'm saying is, Slash and Axl are GNR. The rest of the band can fuck itself for all I care.
scribd.com/doc/6642910/…
But it's about loss. It doesn't matter what kind of loss. I don't even really like GNR, but this song has me on my knees each time I hear it, because it is filled to the brim with loss.