Don't Cry

"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, "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.

Composition and recording

Stradlin and Rose wrote the song (with the working title "Don't You Cry Tonight") in March 1985, shortly after Guns N' Roses was formed in Los Angeles. In fact, at a show in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 12, 2021, Rose claimed it was "the first song that was written for Guns N' Roses.” In the 1993 video Don't Cry: Makin' F@*!ing Videos Part I Rose says that "Don't Cry" was their most Hanoi Rocks -influenced song. In the Special Collector's Edition of Rolling Stone dedicated to the band, Kory Grow quotes Rose:

At the September 2021 Atlantic City show cited above, Rose told the crowd: