| "Welcome to the Jungle" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Guns N' Roses | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Appetite for Destruction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A-side | "Welcome to the Jungle" (LP Version) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Mr. Brownstone" (LP Version) (US) "Whole Lotta Rosie" (Live) (UK) "Nightrain" (LP Version) (UK 2nd release) |
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| Released | October 3, 1987 October 1988 (UK 2nd release) |
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| Format | 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, 12" picture disc, CD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 12 March 1987 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Heavy metal, hard rock[1][2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:31 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Geffen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Axl Rose, Slash | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Mike Clink | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Guns N' Roses singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on its 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. It was released as the band's second single on October 3, 1987, and reached number #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[3] and number #24 on the UK Singles Chart.[4] In the United Kingdom, "Welcome to the Jungle" was backed with a live cover of AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie", while in the United States the B-side was "Mr. Brownstone" from Appetite for Destruction. The 12" vinyl and 12" picture disc editions of the single also featured "Whole Lotta Rosie", in addition to live versions of "It's So Easy" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". In 2009 it was named the greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.[5]
Contents |
"Welcome to the Jungle" was the first song co-written by lead vocalist Axl Rose and lead guitarist Slash. According to an interview published by Hit Parader in March 1988, "[Axl] wrote the words while visiting his long time friend Tori in Kingston, Washington, a town outside of Seattle. It's a big city, but at the same time it's still a small city compared to Los Angeles and the things that you're gonna learn. It seemed a lot more rural up there. [Axl] just wrote how it looked to [him]. If someone comes to town and they want to find something, they can find whatever they want."[6] Hit Parader also quoted rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin as summarising the song as "about Hollywood streets; true to life."[7]
Slash describes the development of the music of "Welcome to the Jungle" in his self-titled autobiography. As the band was trying to write new material, Axl remembered a riff Slash had played while he was living in the basement of Slash's mother's house. He played it and the band quickly laid down the foundations for the song, as Slash kept on coming up with new guitar parts for it. He credits Duff McKagan as coming up with the breakdown. According to Slash, the song was written in approximately three hours.[8]
The line "Welcome to the Jungle" was also featured in the 1984 song "Underwater World" by the Finnish glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, whom Axl Rose has cited as the biggest influence of Guns N' Roses.
Clint Eastwood wanted to use the song in his film, "The Dead Pool." The movie featured a then unknown Jim Carrey who was going by the name of "James Carrey" at that time, playing the part of a rock star by the name of "Johnny Squares." Carrey would be filmed lip synching to Welcome to the Jungle. The band was asked to be in the film, and can be seen briefly during Johnny Squares' funeral scene, as well as during the shooting of a movie, when Slash, Duff, Izzy, and Steven are seen on a prop boat, with Slash firing a harpoon at a window, which was later used in the film to kill the antagonist.
| US 7" vinyl (927 759-7) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Axl Rose, Slash | 4:31 | ||||||
| 2. | "Mr. Brownstone" | Izzy Stradlin, Slash | 3:46 | ||||||
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Total length:
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8:17 | ||||||||
| UK 1987 7" vinyl (GEF 30) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Rose, Slash | 4:31 | ||||||
| 2. | "Whole Lotta Rosie" (Live AC/DC cover) | Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott | 5:29 | ||||||
| UK 1987 12" vinyl (GEF 30T); 12" picture disc (GEF 30TP) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Rose, Slash | 4:31 | ||||||
| 2. | "Whole Lotta Rosie" (Live AC/DC cover) | Young, Young, Scott | |||||||
| 3. | "It's So Easy" (live) | Duff McKagan, West Arkeen | |||||||
| 4. | "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Live Bob Dylan cover) | Bob Dylan | |||||||
| UK 1988 7" vinyl (GEF 47) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Rose, Slash | 4:31 | ||||||
| 2. | "Nightrain" | Rose, McKagan, Slash, Stradlin | |||||||
| UK 1988 12" vinyl (GEF 47T); 12" poster bag (GEF 47TW); 12" picture disc (GEF 47TP); 3" CD (GEF 47CD) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Welcome to the Jungle" | Rose, Slash | 4:31 | ||||||
| 2. | "Nightrain" | Rose, McKagan, Slash, Stradlin | |||||||
| 3. | "You're Crazy" (Acoustic version) | Rose, Slash, Stradlin | |||||||
Geffen Records was having a hard time selling the video to MTV. David Geffen made a deal with the network, and the video was aired only one time around 5:00AM on a Sunday morning. As soon as the video was aired, the networks received numerous calls from people wanting to see the video again.
In spite of the early morning airtime, the song's music video caught viewers' attention and quickly became MTV's most requested video. The video in question begins with a shot of Axl Rose disembarking a bus in New York and a drug dealer (portrayed by Izzy) is seen trying to sell his merchandise while Rose rejects it. As Rose stops to watch a television through a store window, clips of the band playing live can be seen and Slash can also be seen briefly, sitting against the store's wall and drinking from a clear glass bottle in a brown paper bag. By the end of the video Rose has transformed into a city punk, wearing the appropriate clothing, after going through a process similar to the Ludovico technique.
During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine about the music video, the Guns N' Roses then-manager Alan Niven said that he "came up with the idea of stealing from three movies: Midnight Cowboy, The Man Who Fell to Earth and Clockwork Orange."[9]
Martin Popoff included the song at number nineteen in his book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time; it was ranked the second "greatest metal song " by VH1;[10] it appeared at #467 on Rolling Stone' "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list,[11] it appeared as number seven hundred and sixty-four on Q's "1001 Best Songs Ever" chart;[7] and the song was named the "greatest song about Los Angeles" in a poll in Blender. In 2009, it was named the greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.[5] The song is a frequently used during sporting events and in 2009 the readers of Rolling Stone magazine rated it the greatest sports anthem.[12]
"Welcome to the Jungle" is often used as the opener at Guns N' Roses concerts, being played at almost every show on the Appetite for Destruction Tour and Use Your Illusion Tour. From 2001-2007, on the Chinese Democracy Tour, "Welcome to the Jungle" was used exclusively as the show opener, until 2009, when it was replaced by "Chinese Democracy". It now occupies the second spot on the setlist.
The song was used as the concert introduction during concerts in Shakira's world tour, the Tour of the Mongoose. Australian rock band Mammal frequently cover "Welcome to the Jungle" live, incorporating the first verse and chorus of the song as part of their own song "Inciting". Pink performed the song at her 2003's Try This Tour.