Civil War
Guns N' Roses
Become A Better Singer In Only 30 Days, With Easy Video Lessons!
Look at your young men fighting Look at your women crying Look at your young men dying The way they've always done before Look at the hate we're breeding Look at the fear we're feeding Look at the lives we're leading The way we've always done before My hands are tied The billions shift from side to side And the wars go on with brainwashed pride For the love of God and our human rights And all these things are swept aside By bloody hands time can't deny And are washed away by your genocide And history hides the lies of our civil wars D'you wear a black armband When they shot the man Who said "peace could last forever" And in my first memories They shot Kennedy I went numb when I learned to see So I never fell for Vietnam We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all That you can't trust freedom When it's not in your hands When everybody's fightin' For their promised land And I don't need your civil war It feeds the rich while it buries the poor Your power hungry sellin' soldiers In a human grocery store Ain't that fresh I don't need your civil war Ow, oh no, no, no, no, no Look at the shoes you're filling Look at the blood we're spilling Look at the world we're killing The way we've always done before Look in the doubt we've wallowed Look at the leaders we've followed Look at the lies we've swallowed And I don't want to hear no more My hands are tied For all I've seen has changed my mind But still the wars go on as the years go by With no love of God or human rights 'Cause all these dreams are swept aside By bloody hands of the hypnotized Who carry the cross of homicide And history bears the scars of our civil wars I don't need your civil war It feeds the rich while it buries the poor Your power hungry sellin' soldiers In a human grocery store Ain't that fresh I don't need your civil war No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no I don't need your civil war I don't need your civil war Your power hungry sellin' soldiers In a human grocery store Ain't that fresh I don't need your civil war No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no uh-oh-uh, no uh-oh, uh no I don't need one more war I don't need one more war No, no, no, no uh-oh-uh, no uh-oh, uh no Whaz so civil 'bout war anyway?
Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer
Written by: W. AXL ROSE, SAUL HUDSON, DUFF ROSE MCKAGAN, IZZY STRADLIN, DARREN A. REED, MATT SORUM
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
14 facts about this song
Release Date"Civil War" was released as a single in 1990 and was eventually included in the band's 1991 studio album, 'Use Your Illusion II'.
|
CompositionThe song was co-written by Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan. It’s the only song on the album to have this writing combination.
|
Subject MatterThe lyrics of "Civil War" strongly emphasise war and the suffering caused by it. The song conveys a strong anti-war message.
|
Sampled SpeechThe beginning of the song features a sample of a speech by Peruvian leader Stroessner justifying the Argentine ‘Dirty War’, which resulted in around 30,000 disappearances.
|
Famous QuotationIt begins with a popular quotation, "What we've got here is failure to communicate." This quote is from the 1967 film, 'Cool Hand Luke'.
|
Whistling IntroductionThe initial music of "Civil War" is whistled by frontman Axl Rose. The melody is based on 'Charges', a traditional military rhythm.
|
Last Song with AdlerSteven Adler, the original drummer for Guns N' Roses, recorded his last track with the band for "Civil War" due to his severe drug addiction.
|
Music VideoDespite the song's popularity, "Civil War" never had an official music video. However, it was performed live in Tokyo in 1992, and this performance was frequently aired on MTV.
|
Human Rights Benefit Concert"Civil War" was first performed at the Farm Aid IV concert in 1990. A recording was later released on the album 'Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal', which raised funds for the wards of Romanian orphans with AIDS.
|
Radio DebutThe song first aired on rock radio stations before its formal recording and release, making the public eagerly anticipate the official release.
|
Charitable MotivesAll royalties earned by "Civil War" were donated to the "Civil Wars: The Child Victims" fund, which is handled by Dolphin Humanitarian Association, a non-profit European charity organization.
|
LengthClocking in at almost 8 minutes, "Civil War" is one of the longest songs they have ever recorded.
|
Live PerformancesThe band often played the song during their "Not in This Lifetime... Tour", with the first performance taking place in April 2016.
|
Awards"Civil War" was nominated for the Best Hard Rock Performance category at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards.
|
Citation
Use the citation below to add these lyrics to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Civil War Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/27243755/Guns+N%27+Roses/Civil+War>.
Discuss the Civil War Lyrics with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In