Guns N' Roses - Live And Let Die
Guns N’ Roses covered “Live and Let Die” in 1991, releasing it as the second single from their album Use Your Illusion I. The song was originally written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings as the theme for the 1973 James Bond film of the same name. According to guitarist Slash, both he and Axl Rose had always loved the song, though they hadn’t discussed their mutual affection for it until one night when they were talking about potential cover songs. When Slash rehearsed it with Izzy Stradlin, Matt Sorum, and Duff McKagan, the song “sounded really heavy”, dispelling their initial doubts about whether they could do it justice.
The recording featured synthesizers rather than actual horns, with Axl Rose spending hours meticulously programming the complex synth parts to capture the nuances of the original arrangement. Despite their concerns about matching the quality of the original, the band’s version developed its own character, with Rose describing it as having a rough, scratchy vocal delivery that made it distinctly theirs. The cover was commercially successful, charting at No. 20 on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, the single reached the top five in Ireland, Norway, and the UK, became the third consecutive number-one from the Use Your Illusion albums in Finland, and topped the New Zealand charts for two weeks.
The cover was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in 1993, though it lost to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give It Away.” A music video was made in November 1991 featuring the band playing live on stage with old pictures, and it became the last video to feature Izzy Stradlin before his departure from the band. The band performed the song live from Wembley Stadium at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, and it has remained a staple of their live performances ever since.
Paul McCartney himself responded positively to the cover, though with an amusing anecdote. His children would tell their school friends that their dad wrote the song, but nobody would believe them, insisting it was a Guns N’ Roses original. McCartney said he was “very happy that they had done it” and that he always likes when people cover his songs. The Guns N’ Roses version also appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film Grosse Pointe Blank, further cementing its place in popular culture.
Guns N' Roses - Live and Let Die Lyrics
When you were young and your heart
Was an open book
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did)
(You know you did)
(You know you did)
But if this ever changin' world
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die
What does it matter to ya
When you got a job to do you got to do it well
You got to give the other fella hell
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did)
(You know you did)
(You know you did)
But if this ever changin' world
In which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
Live and let die