Few hard rock songs feature a piano part as magnificent as the one in “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses. The epic ballad, which runs almost nine minutes long, opens with Axl Rose setting the tone at the keys with accompanying strings. It has become an iconic song in its own right, but Rose had his own influences while writing it – and it wasn’t Beethoven.
“[Motley Crue’s] Tommy Lee was major influence on the song. It was the first time I saw ‘Home Sweet Home,’ and watching the part of doing the piano, it made me realize that I could take what I did know about piano and focus it into something simple, but very serious,” he said on a 1993 behind-the-scenes VHS. “Because I think the part that he does on ‘Home Sweet Home’ is beautiful — it’s very simple, but it’s the right part. That’s the approach I took to ‘November Rain.’ That’s what got me started. I saw that video, then shut off the TV and started on ‘November Rain.'”
Rose began working on it in 1985 and had “November Rain” in demo form by 1986. However, it wouldn’t be released until 1991’s “Use Your Illusion I.” This was in part due to the singer’s determination.
“If it’s not recorded right, I’ll quit the business,” he told Rolling Stone in 1988.
Although many pianists transpose it to C for ease. The original version of “November Rain” is in B major. Rose begins with a dramatic grace note before starting the intro chord progression. It begins on an E, which is the IV chord in the key of B. This creates a sense of suspension before firmly establishing the tonal center.
The song keeps to this suspenseful feeling by avoiding the use of a true V to I cadence, instead moving from the IV to the ii before resolving to the I. This gives a floating, unresolved feeling that mirrors the song’s lyrical content, which focuses on requited love.
After Rose spills his heart out and Slash takes a couple of guitar solos, the song comes to a strong resolution on B major. However, the tale isn’t over. They begin a grandiose coda that switches the key to B minor by once again using the piano to bring in the jam. Drummer Matt Sorum plays a march-style beat on the snare to help build the intensity during a gradual crescendo. The rest of the song acts as a rock and roll meditation as we hear repeated lyrics:
“Don’t you think that you need somebody?
Don’t you think that you need someone?
Everybody needs somebody
You’re not the only one
You’re not the only one”
“November Rain” stands as a monumental effort, and a record-breaking one at that. It was the longest song in history to enter the top 10 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for nearly three decades, only to be knocked out by Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” in 2021.
But as Axl says, “Nothing lasts forever, even cold November Rain.”
Check out the cinematic music video above and follow along with the sheet music for “November Rain”:
