What does Welcome to the Jungle mean?

Guns N' Roses: Welcome to the Jungle Meaning

Album cover for Welcome to the Jungle album cover

Song Released: 1987


Welcome to the Jungle Lyrics

Welcome to the jungle
We got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money honey
We got your disease

Chorus:
In the jungle
Welcome to the...

  1. anonymous
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    Dec 19th 2016 !⃝

    This song is about the vietnam war (no lie).

  2. anonymous
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    Mar 31st 2015 !⃝

    I think this song is about Chicago in the early 1900s. There is a 1906 book that Upton Sinclair wrote called "The Jungle" and this song has so so many references that fit the book and even just everything that was going on during that very industrialized time. Many people were persuaded to come to Chicago because of all the available career opportunities. Things became very difficult though, as people were consistently dying from disease or bleeding out from injuries in the meat and industrial factories. Because of these very long and difficult work days, the men (although there were a few women) always looked forward to going home to their wives, hence the sexual references.

  3. anonymous
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    Jun 27th 2014 !⃝

    The song is about Westville...a prison in indiana. Makes me laugh that everyone things it has to be about some big city and sex and drugs. Its written about experience all right, but the kind you get from being locked up. There is still a huge wall mural in the prison commemorating "The Jungle"

  4. anonymous
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    Sep 5th 2013 !⃝

    This is obviously about LA. Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, a metaphor for the LA, like a "concrete jungle" almost. God I love GnR...Axl Rose was sexy, but isn't anymore. Slash is though. A good classic rock song dedicated to LA! ^_^

  5. anonymous
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    Aug 1st 2013 !⃝

    To me, it's definitely about L.A...Sex, druggies, alcohol abuse, etc...A classic metal song. Typical Guns 'N Roses subject matter, though.

  6. anonymous
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    Jun 8th 2012 !⃝

    I think its just talking about his genital area.His Penis is as big as a serpentine and its hairy just like a jungle.Its also talking about life in a dangerous city with prostitutes and drugs.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  7. anonymous
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    May 15th 2011 !⃝

    I always thought that this song was about hardcore sex. You know, the jungle he was referring to is his "bush" if you know what I mean, he wants to pop your cherry to watch you bleed, the disease is an STD, you have you pay for the sex, when you get pulled into the prostitution, then come the drugs and you have to pay for them as well, he wants to bring you to your sha-na-na-na-na knees why? For a blowjob. To me, it all seems like a sexual druggie nightlife anthem. This is actually the only Guns N' Roses song that I can tolerate. I'm much more of a Nirvana fan. XD

  8. anonymous
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    May 5th 2011 !⃝

    You guys are so naive. Its all about sex and drugs.

    "Welcome to the jungle
    We got fun 'n' games
    We got everything you want
    Honey we know the names
    We are the people that can find
    Whatever you may need
    If you got the money honey
    We got your disease."
    They can get you the things you need to fill your fix, addiction is a disease. Some people refure to it as a game. Drugs cost money.

    Chorus:
    In the jungle
    Welcome to the jungle
    Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
    I wanna watch you bleed"
    Some drugs make you bleed, like coke for example. Some drugs bring you to your knees, they get the best of you, they control you.

    "Welcome to the jungle
    We take it day by day"
    More and more people do drugs everyday, your addiction gets worse and worse everyday.

    "If you want it you're gonna bleed
    But it's the price you pay"
    Drugs are really expensive.

    "And you're a very sexy girl
    That's very hard to please
    You can taste the bright lights
    But you won't get them for free."
    Prostitution, obviously, you can screw her, she's very good at her job but you are most deffidnetly not going to get her in bed for free.

    "In the jungle
    Welcome to the jungle
    Feel my, my serpentine
    I, I wanna hear you scream"
    Welcome to the drug industry, every new drug you take is like intering a jungle, you don't know what to expect, if you take to much it could kill you. You can get lost easily in the jungle, you can get lost easily in the world of drugs.

    "Welcome to the jungle
    It gets worse here everyday"
    Already explained.

    "Ya learn ta live like an animal
    In the jungle where we play"
    You start to do anything to get your fix, just like an animal will do anything to get dinner.

    "If you got a hunger for what you see
    You'll take it eventually"
    If you see a drug that looks like it'd be a fun trip, you start to crave it, you'll take it eventually.

    "You can have anything you want
    But you better not take it from me"
    You can have all the drugs you want but you better not steal them from him.

    Chorus

    And when you're high you never
    Ever want to come down, YEAH!
    It's self explanitory, you never wanna face reality. It's hard to after awhile.

    "You know where you are
    You're in the jungle baby
    You're gonna die"
    The drugs are going to kill you.

    "In the jungle
    Welcome to the jungle
    Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
    In the jungle
    Welcome to the jungle
    Feel my, my serpentine
    In the jungle
    Welcome to the jungle
    Watch it bring you to your knees, knees
    In the jungle
    Welcome to the jungle
    Watch it bring you to your
    It's gonna bring you down
    Ha!"
    The drugs are in control, not you. They're stronger than you, they're going to bring you to your weakest spot, they're going to make you vonerable.

  9. anonymous
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    Apr 28th 2011 !⃝

    i'm surprised no one has gotten this. I personally think it's about politics. "if you got the money honey, we got your disease" is talking about how politians often will help someone who gave them a lot of money to their campain, such as passing a law. Thw jungle is politics in general. "watch it bring you to your knees" it corrupts, it's hard to handle. "that's very hard to please" obviously, no matter what you do, people will point out faults. being a "sexy girl" is where even if you dont have good ideas, if you are popular, or even attractive, people will bend towards you. "If you got a hunger for what you see, you'll take it eventually" is self explanatory."you can have anything you want, but you'd better not take it from me." is saying how people will selfishly keep anything they have, and no one can take their money or power. "and when you're high you'll never ever want to come down" is exactly what it says. the more power people get, the more they want.
    That's what I think. I'm not hating on our government, I'm just stating a fact. To me, it says politics.

  10. anonymous
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    Apr 19th 2011 !⃝

    CHaMOMILE .. Indiana punk rock. Axl's a pussy. Songs about a IN prison he never set foot in. our singer did. Grow a fucking dick axl. prison ain't shit.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  11. anonymous
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    Apr 18th 2011 !⃝

    The song is about how the band was new in the scene and playing in some big city. A homeless guy sees how they are dresses and laughs at them sayin, "You know were you are, your in the jungle baby, your gonna die" meaning that their looks and lack of how the street life really was, was going to get them killed if they did not find a safer area to hang out. They had just got off the buss and had no idea what they were doing.

  12. anonymous
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    Apr 15th 2011 !⃝

    i was locked up in indiana state farm with a few people that were in westville prison in the 80s.axel did time in westville prison back in the 80s.they say it was a jungle back then and he wrote the song about that prison

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  13. anonymous
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    Dec 9th 2010 !⃝

    OK the No. 1 answer makes a bunch of sense, but then what does "feel my, my, my serpentine" have to do with LA? I mean I get what it's alluding to, but I don't see how that fits....

  14. anonymous
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    Aug 18th 2010 !⃝

    Welcome to the jungle -- welcome to the city, these days almost any city
    We got fun 'n' games -- we got drugs, hookers, danger, etc
    We got everything you want -- think of it, someone will sell it to you
    Honey we know the names -- we know the names of drugs, fetishes, etc
    We are the people that can find -- we're a bunch of party animals that have hook ups on anything
    Whatever you may need -- continued
    If you got the money honey -- do you have cash?
    We got your disease -- we have whatever you're addicted to for sale, be it drugs, hookers, crazy sex acts, etc


    Chorus:


    In the jungle -- in the city
    Welcome to the jungle --
    Watch it bring you to your shun n,n,n,n,,n,n,,n,n,n,,n,n,,n knees, knees -- drugs, parties, binging, sex, etc will debilitate your health and finances, figuratively dropping you to your knees, where you could start giving people oral sex for money to support your addictions
    I wanna watch you bleed -- your nose will bleed from drug snorting, your arm from injecting, or vagina from sexual abuse


    Welcome to the jungle -- welcome to the city, sucker
    We take it day by day -- all we think about is our next hookup
    If you want it you're gonna bleed -- drugs and sex abuse will give you health problems or stds, and you will pay dearly
    But it's the price you pay -- if you wanna get high, you gotta pay the price
    And you're a very sexy girl -- you're a cute one
    That's very hard to please -- who is self absorbed
    You can taste the bright lights -- sure, you can live the rockstar lifestyle
    But you won't get them for free -- there is always a cost, sexual favors, money, emotional scarring, etc

    In the jungle -- in the city
    Welcome to the jungle -- welcome to the city
    Feel my, my, my serpentine -- the city wants you to feel its evil death grip
    I, I wanna hear you scream -- the city wants to have you reach your lowest low, because it doesn't care about you


    Welcome to the jungle
    It gets worse here everyday -- every day sucks worse than the last, probably because of hangovers
    Ya learn ta live like an animal -- people don't care about each other, they are just trying get indulge in desires
    In the jungle where we play -- in the city where we party
    If you got a hunger for what you see -- if you want something
    You'll take it eventually -- eventually you'll do it
    You can have anything you want -- you can have everything here
    But you better not take it from me -- take my drugs or my woman and I will kill you


    Chorus


    And when you're high you never -- after doing drugs, you always have to do more to feel that same high again
    Ever want to come down, so down, so down, so down YEAH!


    You know where you are -- this was
    You're in the jungle baby -- a quote
    You're gonna die -- said to the writer while living like a crazy person

  15. drug_user111
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    Mar 30th 2010 !⃝

    i totally agree with the topm rated interpretation of the song. although, i know its an anal thing to add, but when he was TRYING to get to LA from indianna, him and his "friend" wound up in the bronx of new york. sitting in the gutter an old black man approched them and said "do u know where you are? your in the jungle babay, ur gunna die!" then walked off laughing.
    watched it in a night in the jungle, a mtv iterview with guns n roses sometime in the late 80's.




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