the garden

[mrlee]

what is the song actually about, and the video?

[ShotgunBlues1978]

Drugs, pretty much

[Sillything]

yep pretty much...or flowers

[CheapJon]

you're all wrong it's about losing your virginity to a gypsy with blonde hair

[Sillything]

you're all wrong it's about losing your virginity to a gypsy with blonde hair

Oh man! I thougt I was the only one that happend to! Now I can relate to the song in a whole new way. Whooaa!

[BlowUpYourVideo]

I like to think of it as not being about anything in particular.


One of my fav GNR songs though.

[stolat]

I just watched the filmclip - man Axl looks really fed up in it!

[faldor]

From www.gnrsource.com

Written in: "The Garden" was written in or before 1988.
Written about: "The Garden" is said to be about Charles Manson and the Manson family.

In Their Own Words
Slash: Axl sang a part in 'The Garden,' and it sounded exactly like Alice Cooper, I mean, it sounded exactly like Alice. So we were like, 'Let's get Alice to do it,' you know, rather than just steal his style. So Alice came down and sang it. It was cool."

Alice Cooper: I was in LA, staying at the Sunset Marquis. I was watching an old movie when Axl called me. It was about two in the morning and he says, 'Hey, listen, can you do the vocal on this song 'The Garden'? I went down there and I listened to it and said, 'Yeah, I'll do it.' So we do it but when Axl sings, you can't stay with him. I'm sitting there and I'm trying to do a duet with him and I said, 'Listen guys, this is my range. I end right here.' He was two octaves ahead of me and I'm going, 'Okay, okay. You do the real high parts and I'll stay down here.' When you're in the studio, a one-on-one with him, it's really amazing. When he's on the other mike, you're like, 'Jeez this guy can really sing.' Axl was a definite perfectionist . Almost to the point where you wanted to say, 'At some point, Axl, it's gonna be good enough.' With 'The Garden,' it was an easy bit for me to do. I did my bit maybe three times but when Axl was doing his vocals, he treated it very intricately. Rock and roll isn't supposed to be perfect. I'm afraid of it sounding too perfect. I mean, Bob Ezrin recorded Pink Floyd's The Wall three times. They probably did it like six times before they put it out. You never know if a person is not happy with it or if they're afraid of the material. The Beatles must listen back to Sgt. Pepper and go, 'Oh, man, why didn't we do this?' As an artist, you gotta know when the painting is done.

Slash: I came up with the solo that day in the studio, so there wasn't much practicing involved. I had the basic idea, improvised it, and did it a couple of times. I played it overhand. This solo is particularly focused, in terms of where your energy is. I thought of Jeff Beck. That's cool. I like Jeff Beck. 
Slash: When you turn around and play something like "The Garden," and having it totally be as heavy as that song is, and pull it off live, and just fucking blow everybody's minds with it. 'Cause they're not expecting it.
 

[Angel Down]

Anyone heard of the French singer Renaud? (Ecoutez Moi Les Garvoches).

Axl bears a striking resemblance to him in The Garden clip. (When he walks out from behind the statue)!

[ppbebe]

"The Garden" is said to be about Charles Manson and the Manson family.

guess my opinion that citr bears some resemblance to this song wasn't so far off.

[madagas]

I don't agree. I think the song is about a naive kid coming to New York or any big city and finding all the indulgences there...both women and drugs....and how you can lose yourself to all the temptations it offers. It can be a song about a drug trip, a sexual encounter, mulltiple seedy things. "THE TREES" are the big buildings and skyscrapers......you see the buildings yet you are distracted by the flowers (drugs, whores, etc). Poor boys taking the chance is like Axl coming from a small midwestern town to the big city and getting his mind blown. In essence, some of the themes are similar to Jungle. Read the lyrics again, watch the video, then read my post. Women, drugs, and the big city. This is one of my top 5 favorite Gnr songs.

[ppbebe]

madagas, actually I agree with you about the song. for that reason it has the similar feel to citr.