“Civil War” by Guns N Roses

"Civil War" was out in the world before Use Your Illusion II ever landed: Guns N' Roses first gave it to the 1990 compilation Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal, and it reached number four on the American Album Rock Tracks chart that year before taking its place on the 1991 album. It's a protest song, and a sprawling one, arguing that every war is a civil war and that the poor are buried so the rich can eat.

Mike Clink produced it with the band. Slash moves from acoustic picking to electric fire, Dizzy Reed's piano adds gravity, Duff McKagan holds the bottom, and Axl Rose snarls and pleads in turn. It was also Steven Adler's last single with the band; he was gone within months, and Matt Sorum was behind the kit by the time it came out as a single. The 1993 worldwide release went to number one in Poland.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.