What does November Rain mean?

Guns N' Roses: November Rain Meaning

Album cover for November Rain album cover

Song Released: 1992


November Rain Lyrics

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...

  1. anonymous
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    Jan 12th 2012 !⃝

    I feel this song is about a relationship that has gotten hard and troubled. Times are difficult and stormy (Hence, November Rain)
    I feel like one of the people in the relationship is prepared to allow the other to leave if thats what they want to do.
    'Everybody needs some time...on their own
    Don't you know you need some time...all alone'
    Maybe time apart will make the other realise that this love is ment to be. One is so sure that they are ment to be together that they will give the other the space that just might help them fall back in love.
    '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'
    Word have failed, Talking wont fix this relationship.Only time will tell if this loe is ment to be.
    'I know that you can love me
    When there's no one left to blame'
    One blames the other, Maybe they cheated maybe the werent around but whatever it was i has hurt the other.
    'So never mind the darkness
    We still can find a way
    'Cause nothin' lasts forever
    Even cold November rain'
    Love my find its way back to these two. Maybe it wont but the last line implys that one way or the other someone will end up happy.

  2. anonymous
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    Nov 30th 2011 !⃝

    I feel the song is about a troubled relationship. However it is diguised by such beauty in the melody as if in public they are trying to paint a perfect picture I feel that the guy has been unfaithful however they are giving it another chance yet the girl is so unsure of whether she can trust him it's 'love restrained'. As the story unfolds and the melody gets deeper this is where in reality other people are starting to guess that things are not all as they seem between the couple 'when even friends seem out to harm you' has the man cheated in the past with one of her friends she can't trust anyone. And then the drama unfolds as do you need some time on your own. Slash's guitar solo represents the whirlwind of events which eventually kill the relationship. If you look at the roses in the video you can see how they go from looking fresh and new to in the end haggard and dead with the colour draining which represents the life has finally being drained out from this relationship

  3. anonymous
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    Sep 16th 2010 !⃝

    Basically my understanding is hes telling her he loves her and that he knows nothings perfect even relationships ... love isnt always perfect thats my take on it anyway :)

  4. understandingmusic
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    Jul 31st 2010 !⃝

    November Rain is a song about living for the moment and cherishing those who love you and those you love by being there for them.
    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

    This particular verse, the opening verse, shows this message quite well. Axl is describing how people who love others sometimes restrain their feelings (or hold back their feelings) because they are scared of what may occurr should they be open. The song is trying to describe a situation to the listener where one person loves another, but is scared to open up, and faces the threat of losing a loved one because they were too scared to show their feelings.

  5. anonymous
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    Jun 2nd 2010 !⃝

    I feel like this song is about how their relationship is restrained from what happened in the past. Axl mentions in the song that if you take the time to lay it on the line I can rest my head just knowing that you were mine. He means that whenever she is able to let go of whatever is keeping her from loving him, then they would be able to have a better relationship. It sounds to me that the girl is really affected by whatever hurt her. Axl is trying to tell her to let go of the past......Wouldn't time be out to charm you? He means by forgiving and forgetting,you will probably get something good out of letting go. This song is about having to move on from the past and start a new beginning. If you were in a past relationship, and was wounded by it, it might affect you later on in the next relationship.I feel like axl is trying to say that the girl might be afraid to fall in the same pit like she did in her previous relationship. She doesn't want to get hurt again. I'm going in depth with this.I hope you guys get the point.

  6. anonymous
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    Mar 27th 2010 !⃝

    It's a song about unrequited love. He wants her but he can't have her.

  7. anonymous
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    Nov 10th 2009 !⃝

    Both of them have had a failed relationships in the past and are afraid of being hurt again 2nd phrase When it didn't last forever it was realized and caused a broken heart and A broken heart is a period in time of darkness associated with hurt and depression Both of them are trying to forget the past and he is willing to forget if she does 3rd It happens to everybody but ther is no way of knowing unless they try 4th If she does'nt tell him she'll forget the past so he can be at peace He will return to the hurt and depression 5th He tells her to take some time to think about it 6th Its hard even to trust your friends so you can start with us and time will make it better 7th Everybody needs time to think about it even me I know if you stop blaming the past and forget about it and give it a try I know you can love me Because even hurt and depression don't last forever

  8. anonymous
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    Jun 18th 2009 !⃝

    its a song about going throuigh the stage of depression. on november was axel roses wedding day and after they kissed they ran outside, it was raining and lightning struck his wife killing her.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  9. asterodera
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    Jan 11th 2009 !⃝

    This song is as much beautiful as it is saddening. The way I've interpreted it is that a man's relationship with his partner is out of his hands and can see that things are going to an end, but despite his best efforts to re-kindle or reasure his partner that the stormy times won't last forever, it doesn't seem to be enough.
    Some of the other interpretations of this song which I've read are different, but are certainly questionning mine.

  10. keesh1482
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    Nov 13th 2008 !⃝

    This song is about a short story that Axl read...I can't remember the name of the story but yes, it is about mariage and relationships.

  11. anonymous
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    May 18th 2008 !⃝

    I think this song is about the course of life and how you may love someone but time separates you and your saying mabey onece we grow up and find out that we had other people to blame but I can also see it as a friend song ps this song reminds me of me and my friend and how people grow apart but I still miss her and how one day we could be friends again

  12. anonymous
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    May 8th 2008 !⃝

    I think people have the main part of the song spot-on, but I would like to know what the last two minutes are about. I don't think Axl's decision to change the mood was meaningless.

  13. dudesweet
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    Nov 23rd 2007 !⃝

    The way I see this song is a couple who started out great and steadly declined to the point where he accepts the fact they my lose each other (lovers come and go)

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  14. YourFan
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    Oct 29th 2007 !⃝

    I think it's about a troubled relationship between a man and a woman. The man is basically saying to the girl that the stormy times(November Rain) wouldn't last forever,and that he is willing to let her go if she'll come back to him. well, that's the way I see it.

  15. anonymous
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    Dec 9th 2006 !⃝

    K I see how the first person got that interpretation but the real meaning is that he has a failed marriage. For instance "Do you need sometime all alone, do you need sometime on your own?". He's trying to give her space to try to save the relationship but it just won't work and he's trying to keep it alive but with all the problems they are having he can't. This is represented in the metaphor and title of the song "But it's hard to hold a candle, in the cold November rain".




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