GUNS N' ROSES - GET IN THE RING

GET IN THE RING

GUN’S AND ROSES

SONGWRITERS: SLASH; DUFF MCKAGAN & W. AXL ROSE

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: USE YOUR ILLUSION II

LABEL: GEFFEN RECORDS

GENRE: HARD ROCK

YEAR: 1991

Guns N' Roses, often abbreviated as GNR, is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current lineup consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardist Melissa Reese.

Guns N' Roses' debut album, Appetite for Destruction (1987), reached number one on the Billboard 200 a year after its release, on the strength of the top 10 singles "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", and "Sweet Child o' Mine", the band's only single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide, including 18 million units in the United States, making it the country's bestselling debut album and (…)

Work on a follow-up album stalled due to creative differences between band members; by 1998 only Rose and Reed remained from the Illusion-era lineup. After a decade of work and several lineup changes, Guns N' Roses's long-awaited sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy (2008), was released. At an estimated $14 million in production costs, it is the most expensive rock album in history. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, but undersold industry expectations despite mostly positive critical reception. Slash and McKagan rejoined the band in 2016 for the Not in This Lifetime... Tour, which became the third-highest-grossing concert tour on record, grossing over $584 million by its conclusion in 2019.

In their early years, the band's hedonism and rebelliousness drew comparisons to the early Rolling Stones and earned them the nickname "the most dangerous band in the world". The band's classic lineup, along with later members Reed and drummer Matt Sorum, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, its first year of eligibility. Guns N' Roses have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 45 million in the United States, making them one of the best-selling acts in history.

"Get in the Ring" is the fifth song on the Guns N' Roses album Use Your Illusion II. Written by Axl Rose, Duff McKagan and Slash, it is directed at music critics. Mentioned by name are critics from Hit Parader (Andy Secher), Circus, Kerrang! (Mick Wall) and Spin (Bob Guccione, Jr.)

The song was originally written by McKagan as "Why Do You Look at Me When You Hate Me?", which is its first line. In the interview that precipitated Mick Wall's mention in the song (see below), Rose said: "I've brought in an album. Duff brought in one song. It's called 'Why Do You Look At Me When You Hate Me?' and it's just bad-assed. And I wrote a bunch of words to that." The song was then going to be titled "Get in the Ring Motherfucker" but that was changed too.

At the time of the song's release, Mick Wall of Kerrang! was thought to have been mentioned because of his book Guns N' Roses: The Most Dangerous Band in the World, which was a no holds barred collection of interviews and stories about the band. Wall denies this, and claims the real reason was an interview he conducted in early 1990 for Kerrang! that included Rose's threat to harm Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe after an incident involving Neil's wife and Izzy Stradlin.

The song suggests that Bob Guccione, Jr.'s father (founder of Penthouse magazine) "gets more pussy" than Guccione Jr. The younger Guccione responded in a letter to Rose, saying he accepted the challenge to a fight and could use the promotion to help sell magazines. Rose later backed down from the fight, reportedly after learning that Guccione Jr. had nine years of fight training.

"Get in the Ring" is notorious for its amount of TTswearing.

Why do you look at me when you hate me

Why should i look at you when you

Make me hate you too

I sense a smell of retribution in the air

I don't even understand why the fuck

You even care

And i don't need your jealousy yeah

Why drag me down in your misery

And when you stare you don't think i feel it

But i'm gonna deal it back to you in spades

When i'm havin' fun ya know i can't conceal it

'cause i know you'd never cut it in my game

Oh no

And when you're talkin' about a vasectomy

Yeah

I'll be writin' down your obituary

History

You got your bitches with

The silicone injections

Crystal meth and yeast infections

Bleached blond hair, collagen lip projections

Who are you to criticize my intentions

Got your subtle manipulative devices

Just like you i got my vices

I got a thought that would be nice

I'd like to crush your head tight in my vice

Pain!!!

And that goes for all you punks in the press

That want to start shit by printin' lies

Instead of the things we said

That means you

Andy sercher at hit parader

Circus magazine

Mick wall at kerrang

Bob guccione jr; at spin,

What you pissed off cuz your dad gets more

Pussy than you?

Fuck you

Suck my fuckin' dick

You be rippin' off the fuckin' kids

While they be payin' their hard earned

Money to read about the bands

They want to know about

Printin' lies startin' controversy

You wanta antagonize me

Antagonize me motherfucker

Get in the ring motherfucker

And i'll kick you bitchy little ass

Punk

I don't like you, i just hate you

I'm gonna kick your ass, oh yeah! oh yeah!

You may not like our integrity yeah

We built a world out of anarchy oh yeah

And in this corner weighing in at 850 pounds,

Guns n' roses

Get in the ring

Yeah

Yeah this song is dedicated to

All the guns n' fuckin' roses

Fans who stuck with us through all the

Fucking shit

And to all those opposed...

Hmm...well.