The creative processes for Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Use Your Illusion I’ were filled with ‘heroin deliriums,’ as Slash reportedly stated, which made things both simple and difficult for the band. Although the substance piqued their interest and inventiveness at times, it also caused mental and physical problems, draining the young rock stars.
Their frail state of mind also produced insecurity, leading the all-time confident act to doubt themselves and their ability to compose, write, and arrange; and if you know anything about Axl Rose, you’ll understand how having poor self-esteem does not sound like the vocalist.
Still, he felt particularly nervous when writing down one GN’R track because the words did not appear to reach out to him. Slash would later recount Axl’s difficulties in his 2007 eponymous biography. He added that while the frontman enjoyed the song, he was unhappy that the lyrics did not seem to emerge.
The guitarist’s remarks on how a specific Guns N’ Roses song made Rose feel insecure:
“Axl adored it, but it was the one song for which he couldn’t write lyrics. He was very proud of his ability to write songs, so he felt rather frustrated until one night months later when the words just came to him.
So, if you’re wondering which song that is, it’s ‘Coma,’ a 10-minute track with no chorus. The tune did not repeat itself, and Rose was inspired after deciding not to make some substance abuse-related blunders. The rocker recounted in 1990 that he chose to create the song after overdosing and found himself in a literal ‘coma.’
Axl’s words on how inspiration struck and how he nearly overdosed:
“There’s a song named ‘Coma‘ that is about 11 minutes and 45 seconds lengthy and has no chorus. And I believe there was only one verse that appeared to repeat itself. It’s Slash’s baby. This is his monster. The song was formerly titled ‘Girth.’
But I started writing about when I overdosed four years ago. “I overdosed because stress overwhelmed me, and I couldn’t handle it.” I grabbed the bottle of pills during an argument and swallowed them down, which landed me in the hospital. But I enjoyed that I wasn’t in the struggle anymore, and I was well aware that I was going. I liked that.
But then I go, and my first genuine thoughts are, ‘Okay, you haven’t toured enough’. People will forget the record; it won’t endure. You have a job to do. Get out of this. And I said, ‘No!’ and woke up, you know, to take myself out of it.”
Rose’s worry and insecurity over being forgotten drove him to emerge from his coma and fight back against draining emotions, which eventually inspired the song ‘Coma‘. However, creating the essay was a difficulty in and of itself. The words did not flow to him for months, leaving the musician feeling nervous and doubting his writing ability.
