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Used to Love Her

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This article is about the Guns N' Roses song. For the Common song, see I Used to Love H.E.R. For the Jay Sean song, see My Own Way (album).

"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

"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]

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. ^ a b "G N' R Lies - Guns N' Roses - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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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