Autumn Bell

David Howell

ENG 103-011

15 November 2017

“November Rain” Rhetorical Analysis

Guns N’ Roses musician, Axl Rose, narrates a powerful message about the trials of love

and relationships in the song “November Rain.” Rose’s purpose is to convey the message that

love and relationships can be strenuous and hard to understand but when you are really invested

in someone, you’ll do all you can to make things work, whether things get better or not. His tone

is empathetic yet somber as he expresses the feelings he and his partner share of their

relationship struggles, something everyone can relate to.

This song is well acquainted not only because of it’s descriptive metaphors, but because

it banks on the use of pathos; everyone can relate to a love song. This song focuses on the

feeling of being in love, the hardships of being in a relationship, and ultimately heartbreak.

These are all emotional things that people deal with and share similar experiences with. Two

prominent themes in this song are love and sadness, arguably the most powerful emotions people

can undergo; when combined in the same situation they can cause fear, another intense, driving

emotion. This being said, it was and still is a very popular song because it is relatable in a variety

of ways. In the first verse of the song Rose says “-darlin', when I hold you, don't you know I feel

the same?” Throughout the whole song, Rose is trying to show beyond doubt, that he recognizes

what his lover is struggling with being that he is dealing with emotional battles of his own. He is

using his own experiences to provide support for his partner.

 Rose begins the song speaking to who is assumed to be his partner. He knows that she is

scared to open up and be vulnerable in their relationship, most likely because she has been hurt

in the past. You can tell Rose himself has been hurt in the past as well; therefore he understands

being doubtful of a relationship. He leads right into the chorus after a short first verse saying

“because nothing lasts forever, and we both know hearts can change.” Relationships are

frightening because you’re relying on another person and they can choose to back out at

anytime; no one wants to lose someone they love. Rose follows by saying “ it's hard to hold a

candle, in the cold November rain.” In this verse, november rain is a metaphor for reality and

how it's frigid and harsh like rain in the fall.

The second verse continues to discuss the uncertainty of relationships. “But lovers

always come and lovers always go,” is one of the most blatant verses in the song. Rose is

suggesting that there are always more fish in the sea, but he is trying to make his partner

understand his love for her rather than workout the issues he and his lover have. He ends the

second verse by saying “If we could take the time to lay it on the line-” meaning he wants to talk

everything out and “lay it all out” as someone would say, insinuating he wants complete honesty.

Rose is aware that his partner and he share the same fear; one of them might leave the other at

any given time. With his understanding of this shared feeling, Rose is trying to prove that he

won’t be changing his mind about the relationship. They need to be completely open with one

another if they have any chance of making the relationship work.

Upon the second chorus in the song, you can see a shift in how Rose is trying to come

across. He states the two lines; “so, if you want to love me, then darlin', don't refrain” and “so,

never mind the darkness, we still can find a way.” In the beginning of the song, Rose

acknowledges the struggles his partner is facing and is empathic, but he is still worried about
whether or not she will change her mind and choose to stay with him. Rose follows up by being

uplifting and reassuring his partner by saying they can find a way to work things out. By doing

this they can get through the “November rain.”

Rose’s approach to his partener changes in the refrain, suggesting they take time apart so

they can work on themselves independently, that way they’ll be ready to help each other with

their struggles. He voices “everybody needs some time on their own;” everyone needs time to be

comfortable with themselves in order to be comfortable with another person in an intimate way.

Although he is suggesting time apart from one another, this does not detract from his feelings

towards his partner. Space is healthy in order not to be co-dependant on someone else and form

toxic relationship habits. This may not be the best suggestion though being that his partner has

trust issues; it may only push her away further than before.

In the next refrain Rose says he, himself, needs time on his own, “sometimes I need some

time all alone, everybody needs some time on their own.” He needs this time to gather his

thoughts and decide the best way to handle his issues with his partner without making it harder

on them and creating more distance. Ultimately, it seems like Rose is not only trying to tackle

his relationship issues but also the ones he’s facing mentally. People tend to keep their personal

issues bottled up and to themselves which only makes them worse, but is that as bad as feeling

like a burden to someone else? Rose is presenting an accepting attitude but understands his lover

needs to come to terms with herself before he can help them.

Rose’s attitude shifts again from the last chorus all through the outro. This is the last

time the term “November rain” is mentioned in the song. This is important because unlike the

other times the term is used, it has a hopeful connotation. Rose states, “So, never mind the

darkness, we still can find a way, 'cause nothin' lasts forever, even cold November rain.” In the

earlier
choruses Rose insinuates that he and his partner are stuck in the November rain, but this time he

says that the November rain will come to an end and they will work through the hard times.

In the outro Rose repeats the lines, “Don't ya think that you need someone? Everybody

needs somebody, you're not the only one.” This is a contrast from what he said before; instead

of suggesting they take time alone, he now says they need to rely on each other. While these

verses may seem contradictory, they are not’ people need an even balance of both in a

relationship. It’s healthy and normal to take time alone to yourself, but you should also rely on

your partner to help guide you through issues that you may be facing. The song ends on the line,

“you’re not the only one”; a last attempt at trying to make his partner understand he knows what

they’re going through.

On the surface, this seems like just another love song, but when you take a deeper look at

the lyrics, you can see that this song is also about Rose’s personal struggle with commitment

and relationships. Rose focuses the song on the pain of his lover which exposes pain he is

feeling himself. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, discussions about mental health were not very

prominent, not like they are today. This song is an outlet for Rose to express the issues he is

facing mentally and emotionally because it was not common for these issues to be discussed.

The contrasting lines of, “sometimes I need some time all alone” and “everybody needs

somebody,” shows the inner struggle Rose is having with himself. He wants to keep to himself

and avoid getting hurt, but he also realises he needs that connection with someone, more

specifically a lover, to help work through his problems. Rose is aware of his predicament and is

addressing his problematic behavior in the song, but still clings to the fear of being rejected for

how he feels.

The message Rose is trying to get across in “November Rain” is there will always be

strains on relationships but in order to provide support for your partner you have to grow from
your own experiences and emotional battles. This can either strengthen the relationship or be the

cause of its demise.

Citation
Rose, Axl, Slash, Duff McKagan, Izzy Stradlin, Dizzy Reed, Matt Sorum, Johann Langlie,

Shannon Hoon, Rachel West, Robert Clark, Jon Trautwein, Tim Doyle, Mike Monroe,

West Arkeen, Alice Cooper, Mike Clink, Bruce Foster, Susanne Filkins, Patricia

Fuenzalida, Rose Mann, Monica Zierhut-Soto, Michelle Loiselle, and Diane Mitchell.

"November Rain." Use Your Illusion. Guns N' Roses. Geffen Records Inc., 1991.Spotify.

Web. 15 Nov. 2017.