This is a highly emotional song for me. I have no clue as to what motivated Axl to lash out at the world, but the one thing I value above all else in art is sincerity. This tune paints a picture describing exactly the emotions of some "small town white boy" as he first sets foot in L.A., and encounters people and situations he is profoundly unfamiliar with and understandably frightened of (Rose is originally from small town Indiana).
Even if it is not autobiographical (it probably is), it is a stark portrait of a young man who has never interacted with anyone who wasn't white protestant and is freaked out by his first exposure to the hostile and apathetic "big city." Writers such as Cormac McCarthy, William Burroughs, and J G Ballard often wrote about psychopaths and the nadirs of human degradation, but that did not mean the authors themselves were sadistic, violent beasts. The object of art, so the saying goes, is to hold a mirror up to reality. "One in a Million" reflects a certain reality, not necessarily shared by the majority, nakedly and without the filter of political correctness.
Not all white people have it made in the shade. A lot of racism, in fact, arises from the anger that poor, disenfranchised whites feel. You spend your whole life hearing about how America is the greatest land of opportunity the world has ever seen, and yet you're still shit-poor, your family business reliant upon moonshine and methamphetamine, and people who've been in the country a month are treating you like scum? Damned right you're going to be angry and not entirely sure who to blame for your lot in life.
I don't care if this was purposefully controversial; it was poignant when I was twelve years old, it is godd---ded poignant now.
@ChrisG Nicely put. I really think (as you and others here seem to) that Axl was looking through many pairs of eyes in that song, showing how brutal the relations between groups are and how much distrust flies in all directions.
@ChrisG Nicely put. I really think (as you and others here seem to) that Axl was looking through many pairs of eyes in that song, showing how brutal the relations between groups are and how much distrust flies in all directions.
The lyrics would likely lead to social-media mugging today, but I think it's a great, stark, brutal song that has a worthy message for just about anyone...if they can put off being offended for a few minutes.
The lyrics would likely lead to social-media mugging today, but I think it's a great, stark, brutal song that has a worthy message for just about anyone...if they can put off being offended for a few minutes.
This is a highly emotional song for me. I have no clue as to what motivated Axl to lash out at the world, but the one thing I value above all else in art is sincerity. This tune paints a picture describing exactly the emotions of some "small town white boy" as he first sets foot in L.A., and encounters people and situations he is profoundly unfamiliar with and understandably frightened of (Rose is originally from small town Indiana).
Even if it is not autobiographical (it probably is), it is a stark portrait of a young man who has never interacted with anyone who wasn't white protestant and is freaked out by his first exposure to the hostile and apathetic "big city." Writers such as Cormac McCarthy, William Burroughs, and J G Ballard often wrote about psychopaths and the nadirs of human degradation, but that did not mean the authors themselves were sadistic, violent beasts. The object of art, so the saying goes, is to hold a mirror up to reality. "One in a Million" reflects a certain reality, not necessarily shared by the majority, nakedly and without the filter of political correctness. Not all white people have it made in the shade. A lot of racism, in fact, arises from the anger that poor, disenfranchised whites feel. You spend your whole life hearing about how America is the greatest land of opportunity the world has ever seen, and yet you're still shit-poor, your family business reliant upon moonshine and methamphetamine, and people who've been in the country a month are treating you like scum? Damned right you're going to be angry and not entirely sure who to blame for your lot in life.
I don't care if this was purposefully controversial; it was poignant when I was twelve years old, it is godd---ded poignant now.
@ChrisG Nicely put. I really think (as you and others here seem to) that Axl was looking through many pairs of eyes in that song, showing how brutal the relations between groups are and how much distrust flies in all directions.
@ChrisG Nicely put. I really think (as you and others here seem to) that Axl was looking through many pairs of eyes in that song, showing how brutal the relations between groups are and how much distrust flies in all directions.
The lyrics would likely lead to social-media mugging today, but I think it's a great, stark, brutal song that has a worthy message for just about anyone...if they can put off being offended for a few minutes.
The lyrics would likely lead to social-media mugging today, but I think it's a great, stark, brutal song that has a worthy message for just about anyone...if they can put off being offended for a few minutes.