Used to Love Her

"Used to Love Her" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses from the album G N' R Lies. The song was used as a B-side on some releases of the "Paradise City" single.[5]

"Used to Love Her"
Song by Guns N' Roses
from the album G N' R Lies
ReleasedNovember 29, 1988 (1988-11-29)
Recorded1988
GenreCountry,[1][2][3] Acoustic rock[4]
Length3:13
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)Guns N' Roses
Producer(s)Guns N' Roses, Mike Clink

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." Slash perversely quipped, "People think it's about one of our old girlfriends, but it's actually about Axl's dog."[6]

Live performances

The band debuted the song live at CBGB in October 1987, during the Appetite for Destruction Tour.[7] The song has been a live staple at Guns N' Roses concerts.[8] After last being played with the previous lineup in 1993, the song re-debuted in 2006 during the Chinese Democracy Tour.[9] 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.[10]

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic described the song as a "country-fried boogie", but criticized it as misogynistic.[1] Rolling Stone described it as a "hilarious countryish number that will probably have feminist hot lines jammed across the country".[2]

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.[8] 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. "G N' R Lies - Guns N' Roses - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. Neely, Kim (January 26, 1989). "G N' R Lies".
  3. "Guns N' Roses: The 20 best songs not on 'Appetite for Destruction'".
  4. Corp, Hal Leonard (August 1, 2013). 25 Top Acoustic Songs - Tab. Tone. Technique.: Tab+ Series. Hal Leonard. ISBN 9781480359376 via Google Books.
  5. "Guns N' Roses - Paradise City".
  6. "Song info at GNRSource.com". Archived from the original on December 6, 2007. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  7. Greene, Andy (March 1, 2016). "Flashback: Guns N' Roses Perform Acoustic CBGB Set in 1987".
  8. Gage, Jeff (February 20, 2018). "See Blackberry Smoke, Richard Fortus Play Guns N' Roses' 'Used to Love Her'".
  9. "Here Today... Gone To Hell! - Guns N' Roses History". www.heretodaygonetohell.com.
  10. Kreps, Daniel (April 24, 2016). "See Guns N' Roses Bring Back 'Used to Love Her' at Coachella".
  11. "Every Guns N' Roses Song, Ranked". February 19, 2016.
  12. Busbee, Jay (July 30, 2016). "All 80 Guns N' Roses Songs, Ranked".
  13. Tavana, Art (February 18, 2016). "The Ultimate Ranking of Every Guns N' Roses Song".
  14. "Every Guns N' Roses Song Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  15. "Every Guns N' Roses Song Ranked, Worst to Best". Loudwire.
  16. Rouner, Jef (May 21, 2015). "The 10 Worst Guns N' Roses Songs".
  17. "White Lung Covers Guns N' Roses' "Used to Love Her": Listen - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
  18. "Mish Way Of White Lung Covers Guns N' Roses's "Used To Love Her"".
  19. "Hear White Lung's Mish Barber-Way Cover Guns N' Roses' "Used To Love Her"". June 16, 2016.
  20. "L7 - Monster". Discogs. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
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