Perhaps - New Guns N' Roses Single - Discussion

[lilacmess]

12 minutes ago, BucketEgg said:

Slash killed and crucified a saviour? wow, rock n roll is just like everything those satanic panickers said!

 

 

 

 

In my scenario Slash is of course both: saviour and crucifier. 👍😂

A crucified saviour. Crucified by himself. 😂

Edited August 20, 2023 by lilacmess

[lilacmess]

13 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I don't think the lyrics are about a single subject. It's likely they were combed together from different ideas and things Axl was writing about at the time, which were loosely connected thematically. Axl has written like that before. For example, in the (underrated and misunderstood) lyrics of Right Next Door To Hell, the first verse is Axl reflecting on what happened with Steven, the second verse is reflecting on his childhood and how fame affected his old relationships, the third verse about the band's rise to fame and the chorus about his neighbour.

There are some common things in Perhaps and other songs, for example that the narrator can't or wouldn't want to be like a certain "you" (The Blues/Street of Dreams) or someone carrying weight upon their shoulders (Atlas Shrugged). So there probably are two or three different themes in the verse and another theme on the chorus that are somehow connected with each other. There are certainly some very interesting lines, especially the ones where the narrator appears apologetic. I could attempt a line by line interpretation, but I'd feel a bit ridiculous analyzing the lyrics to Perhaps like it was Shakespeare - maybe another time

 

I'd love if you'd do that. You're actually somewhat knowledgeable. 😅 And of course such interpretations can't be taken too seriously, because we simply just don't know.

Edited August 20, 2023 by lilacmess

[chester]

19 minutes ago, Mikey Whipwreck said:

 

It's a companion piece to Catcher. In the literal reading the "you" is Mark David Chapman the "savior" being Lennon. The narrator being Axl or any Lennon fan who had their hero stolen from them through a senseless act. Perhaps "I/we" as a collective were wrong for ignoring MDC, allowing him to feel this isolated and angry. But also, his actions were futile in that nobody respects, knows, or understands him. He's still alone and misunderstood, with the added burden of being universally despised and ruining his own life

But it's presented in vague enough terms that it can be seen as admonishing anyone who commits atrocities, mass shootings, and so forth with the aim of gaining notoriety

This is how a perceive the song as well. A sequel or companion piece to Catcher. Could be as simple as Axl trying to express the same idea and Catcher just got more attention as the production of CD continued on…

[Arnuld]

11 minutes ago, imsorry said:

You're right there is lots of crackles n clicks specially on the drum fills but the damage was done in the mixing process not on mastering.

I know nothing about the mixing process. How does this happen? 

[Lelex95]

3 hours ago, allwaystired said:

If an album is generating $230 million for the label the artist is probably getting at least $90 million from that. 

The idea that "releasing music doesn't make money" is a fallacy, especially at the top end of the market. 

It's sort of a moot point anyway- the facts and figures are out there if people choose to look at them. 

If they don't want to, they can carry on believing no-one buys music and noone makes money. It won't impact on bands releasing music, on a variety of formats, which they all do. 

I don't know much about it, i was guess because i heard many artists complaint about not getting much from album sales. 

But I'm ignorant on the subject. 

[allwaystired]

9 minutes ago, Lelex95 said:

I don't know much about it, i was guess because i heard many artists complaint about not getting much from album sales. 

But I'm ignorant on the subject. 

There's no doubt that things aren't as they once were- but there's clearly still a lot of money being made, at least by the bigger artists. 

Personally I just want talented artists to carry on being able to produce new art. 

Plenty out there to read about it all if you're interested and bored! 

 

 

[RichardNixon]

Could GN'R be nominated for a Grammy for "Perhaps"?  

How about playing the song on a late-night show? Or The Morning Show? Wolfgang VH does.

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by RichardNixon

[jd123]

13 hours ago, GoodOlJohnnyK said:

In case anyone’s wondering about my mental well-being lately, it took me from Friday morning until about 4 minutes ago to realize why it’s “Side G” and “Side R” instead of A and B.

Right I'll admit it - what am I missing? 

Been annoying me for days & I haven't cracked it. Excuse the slowness... 

[NormisX]

6 minutes ago, RichardNixon said:

Could GN'R be nominated for a Grammy for "Perhaps"?  

How about playing the song on a late-night show? Or The Morning Show? Wolfgang VH does.

 

I know that GNR did unthinkable and released music and even music video, but let's just not get too unrealistic here 

[G O A T]

33 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I don't think the lyrics are about a single subject. It's likely they were combed together from different ideas and things Axl was writing about at the time, which were loosely connected thematically. Axl has written like that before. For example, in the (underrated and misunderstood) lyrics of Right Next Door To Hell, the first verse is Axl reflecting on what happened with Steven, the second verse is reflecting on his childhood and how fame affected his old relationships, the third verse about the band's rise to fame and the chorus about his neighbour.

There are some common things in Perhaps and other songs, for example that the narrator can't or wouldn't want to be like a certain "you" (The Blues/Street of Dreams) or someone carrying weight upon their shoulders (Atlas Shrugged). So there probably are two or three different themes in the verse and another theme on the chorus that are somehow connected with each other. There are certainly some very interesting lines, especially the ones where the narrator appears apologetic. I could attempt a line by line interpretation, but I'd feel a bit ridiculous analyzing the lyrics to Perhaps like it was Shakespeare - maybe another time

 

Thank you so much for the insightful info, would never have expected that from a song like "Right Next Door To Hell" which on the surface appears as a simple punk/rock song. Thought I love contrasts like that and when there's much more into it if you're willing to dig in.

It's a similar thing for me with the Doors which is my all-time favorite band. Still after over 30 years of listening there's things lyric wise that I'm finally starting to understand after ao many years. 

What I love about Axl is that Jim Morrison is also one of his biggest idols but he has never copied  him but clearly understood Morrison on a deeper level that took much more time for most of us others to understand. Looking forward to spend more time focusing on some of Axl's lyrics especially on songs that may not be my favorites music wise

[GNR 1991]

9 minutes ago, jd123 said:

Right I'll admit it - what am I missing? 

Been annoying me for days & I haven't cracked it. Excuse the slowness... 

Guns side

Roses side

[Martin Riggs]

1 hour ago, Mikey Whipwreck said:

 

It's a companion piece to Catcher. In the literal reading the "you" is Mark David Chapman the "savior" being Lennon. The narrator being Axl or any Lennon fan who had their hero stolen from them through a senseless act. Perhaps "I/we" as a collective were wrong for ignoring MDC, allowing him to feel this isolated and angry. But also, his actions were futile in that nobody respects, knows, or understands him. He's still alone and misunderstood, with the added burden of being universally despised and ruining his own life

But it's presented in vague enough terms that it can be seen as admonishing anyone who commits atrocities, mass shootings, and so forth with the aim of gaining notoriety

I’m skeptical this pertains to Perhaps. Has this actually been implied or stated? 

[colonizedmind]

Justin's a fan! 😸

Edited August 20, 2023 by colonizedmind

[DingBat]

8 minutes ago, Martin Riggs said:

I’m skeptical this pertains to Perhaps. Has this actually been implied or stated? 

No, it's a bit of fan fiction.

Edited August 20, 2023 by DingBat

[Ratam]

11 hours ago, marinergtfc said:

An extra 8p in their bank account.

Perla is happy.....

[jd123]

22 minutes ago, GNR 1991 said:

Guns side

Roses side

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh

[Mikey Whipwreck]

31 minutes ago, Martin Riggs said:

I’m skeptical this pertains to Perhaps. Has this actually been implied or stated? 

Just an interpretation, based on the fact that we know the Lennon assassination was weighing heavily on his mind at the time this and Catcher were composed. The "you pulled the gun that shot and crucified my savior" line seems pretty unambiguous to me given the context, and the "you" in the song seems directed at an isolated, unhinged individual 

But unless Axl speaks on it directly, which is unlikely, we'll never know for sure. 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Mikey Whipwreck

[Blackstar]

20 minutes ago, G O A T said:

Thank you so much for the insightful info, would never have expected that from a song like "Right Next Door To Hell" which on the surface appears as a simple punk/rock song. Thought I love contrasts like that and when there's much more into it if you're willing to dig in.

It's a similar thing for me with the Doors which is my all-time favorite band. Still after over 30 years of listening there's things lyric wise that I'm finally starting to understand after ao many years. 

What I love about Axl is that Jim Morrison is also one of his biggest idols but he has never copied  him but clearly understood Morrison on a deeper level that took much more time for most of us others to understand. Looking forward to spend more time focusing on some of Axl's lyrics especially on songs that may not be my favorites music wise

I would never have thought that the first verse of Right Next Door To Hell was about Steven if Axl hadn't explained it (he said that he was trying to relate to how Steven felt, so he was talking from another person's perspective in that verse).

So it's all open to interpretation. For example, "Perhaps I was wrong...." and "my sense of rejection is not excuse for my behaviour" could be Axl expressing guilt and apologizing to someone, or someone else apologizing to him. The lyrics were likely inspired from his feelings about different situations and people (some of which may have inspired other songs he wrote at that time) that connect with each other through some common themes (loneliness, guilt, burden, anger, betrayal etc.)

[WhazUp]

The lyrics of Perhaps are interesting for sure, like some lines on their own including most of the first verse, to my eyes seem to be about Axl/the narrator shellshocked and then also guilty regarding a breakup he was threatened with but thought wouldn't actually happen (perhaps he was wrong when he didn't see her or believe her, but how is he supposed to know how it feels to be her?).  

That would make the "harboring this hate for days" and "my sense of rejection is no excuse for my behavior" bits make sense.  Even the pulling the gun and crucifying his savior bit, maybe talking about how this person meant so much to him, and her breakup made him feel like crucifying (metaphorically) the one he used to love

The chorus however has some lines that are hard to make sense of in that context - I interpret it as Axl/this character rattling off some of their faults that may have caused the breakup to happen

Edited August 20, 2023 by WhazUp

[colonizedmind]

23 minutes ago, Mikey Whipwreck said:

Just an interpretation, based on the fact that we know the Lennon assassination was weighing heavily on his mind at the time this and Catcher were composed. The "you pulled the gun that shot and crucified my savior" line seems pretty unambiguous to me given the context, and the "you" in the song seems directed at an isolated, unhinged individual 

But unless Axl speaks on it directly, which is unlikely, we'll never know for sure. 

Which is why forums like this exists...much more fun for us to speculate...he can tell us all in his book, at the end, if you get me....

I like your theories...

[colonizedmind]

Listen to catcher and then listen to Perhaps straight after....so many possible connections....really want rework Atlas (one I think could actually benefit from a work up and remix - those opening synths will go or be altered for a start...) So with Atlas can complete the sort of modern Guns trilogy...

When all is said and done
We're not the only ones
Who look at life this way
That's what the young folks say
But every time I'd see them
Makes me wish I had a gun
If I thought that I was crazy
Well I guess I'd have more fun
It's what used to be's not there for me
And ought to find someone that belongs insane like I do

Oh no

[Tyson]

My review: eh.  Grows on you after multiple listens but if it had been released as an official single for an upcoming album, I'd be incredibly disappointed.  

[colonizedmind]

Perhaps is the FIRST ever GNR song this guy has liked...so....that's something....

 

Another dude that thinks this song is about Axl finding God!?! Maybe there's something in that....🤔

Another really positive review and there's a ton of reaction videos.for this song.....this is the most spread around we've had with casuals and hardcore's we've had since they got back together! It really has hit a nice sweet spot. Honestly, it's quite an addictive tune too...people.who said it wouldn't hit with the casuals were wrong....it has the piano, it has the mid tempo vibes, it has the heeeey heeeeys, it has a singable melody and it is actually a really good and mature vocal + sentiment from Axl and the music video has done us wonders too....I think it feels strange to say but we can say after the slow dodgy start, this is basically a "universal" success (that'll please em) we should be real happy with this.....

 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by colonizedmind

[colonizedmind]

When Axl sings and holds out the "Your Alll Aloooooone" and Slash comes in, it does give me some Goosebumps..obviously there's some negativity, on here and everywhere just like anything but I've looked in many corners and there IS traction with this one and generally positive vibes and feedback unlike HS and Absurd....The General will more likely be for us hardcore tho! 🤞

Edited August 20, 2023 by colonizedmind

[jekylhyde]

22 minutes ago, colonizedmind said:

Honestly, it's quite an addictive tune too...people.who said it wouldn't hit with the casuals were wrong....it has the piano, it has the mid tempo vibes, it has the heeeey heeeeys, it has a singable melody and it is actually a really good and mature vocal + sentiment from Axl and the music video has done us wonders too....

Perhaps is weirdly catchy. I've caught myself humming it sooo many times during this weekend. The demo sounded good, but it wasn't this catchy and I thought that the official version wouldn't be either, but here we are.

(Well, maybe "addictive" is more descriptive than "catchy".)

Edited August 20, 2023 by jekylhyde