"Don't Cry" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Guns N' Roses feat. Shannon Hoon | ||||
from the album Use Your Illusion I and II | ||||
B-side | "Don't Cry" (alt. lyrics) (LP version) | |||
Released | September 1991 | |||
Studio |
| |||
Genre | Hard rock[1] | |||
Length | 4:45 | |||
Label | Geffen | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Guns N' Roses feat. Shannon Hoon singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Don't Cry" on YouTube |
"Don't Cry" is a song by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, two versions of which were released simultaneously on different albums. The version with the original lyrics is the fourth track on Use Your Illusion I (1991), while the version with the alternate lyrics is the 13th track on Use Your Illusion II (1991). Only the vocal tracks differ, and even then only in the verses; however, in those verses, not only are the words entirely different, but the meter and melody are also slightly different. There is also a third version, officially released only on the single for the song, which was recorded during Appetite for Destruction sessions in 1986.
Referred to as a power ballad,[2] "Don't Cry" reached the top 10 in many countries, including peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In Ireland, "Don't Cry" became Guns N' Roses' second number-one single, and in Finland, it became the second number-one hit from the Use Your Illusion albums. The song also topped Portugal's music chart, reached number two in New Zealand and Norway, and peaked within the top five in Australia, Denmark, and Switzerland. Andy Morahan and Mark Racco directed its accompanying music video.