effort to get out from it. Because nothing last forever in this world, whether it is love or hatred.
From the surface interpretation of the song above, the researcher found some messages about sincere love, pain of being questionable, and fear of a relationship
that has ever been flawed before. In conclusion, “November Rain” is a song about
love, pain and fear.
c. Estranged
Although this song is also a popular song, unfortunately many people still have no idea about this song. After analyzing the lyrics of the song, the researcher
found some new idea through the lines and stanza in the song that may strengthen our opinion about what the song is about. Most of the lines and stanzas showed the
implicit meaning of Axl’s regrets and despair due to his discord with Stephanie.
When youre talkin
’
to yourself l.1 And nobodys home l.2
You can fool yourself l.3 You came in this world alone l.4
This stanza showed an expression of regrets. Those lines above implied that Axl was talking to himself since now he had no one to talk since Stephanie has
gone, while Stephanie was the person who he usually talked to at that time.
Other lines which showed Axl’s regrets are on the whole third stanza.
Old at heart but Im only 28 l.9 And Im much too young l.10
To let love break my heart l.11 Young at heart but its getting much too late l.12
To find ourselves so far apart l.13
Those lines above showed an image of Axl’s recklessness due to mistakes
and the way of thinking that he has done to Stephanie. He thought that he was an adult who knew everything about love and belongingness, otherwise he was still a
young man who still tried to understand what love is at that time. The whole lines in the fifth stanza below showed
Axl’s despair.
Young at heart and it gets so hard to wait l.20 When no one I know can seem to help me now l.21
Old at heart but I mustn’t hesitate
l.22 If Im to find my own way out l.23
It was almost the same with the third stanza but in this stanza, Axl stated his despair which came along with the statement that he
didn’t want to fall in his sorrow
in a long time. He realized what he has done to Stephanie in the past, but it motivates him to be a better person; at least at that time.
The whole lines in the eighth stanza also can be interpreted as Axl’s despair.
When I find out all the reasons l.30 Maybe Ill find another way l.31
Find another day l.32 With all the changing seasons of my life l.33
Maybe Ill get it right next time l.34
Those lines above completely showed that after Axl realized his mistakes, he thought and thought again about what he could do in future to redeem his mistakes
that he has done in the past; since h e totally didn’t want to be the same person who
failed in maintaining a good relationship for twice. The other lines that showed his regrets and despair are in the whole twelfth
stanza.
I knew the storm was getting closer l.53 And all my friends said I was high l.54
But everything weve ever knowns here l.55 I never wanted it to die l.56
It is clearly seen that those lines showed Axl’s regrets for all the recklessness
he has done to Stephanie. He realized that bigger problems would come to him after that accident. He also realized that he was putting himself too high before; which
means he put his ego higher than his love, so that Stephanie felt uncomfortable and finally left him. He was totally lonely and in despair and he is sinking into his
regrets. In conclusion,
“Estranged” is a song about regrets due to the most difficult time after Axl lose Stephanie Seymour. I
t’s mainly about loneliness and despair caused by the irreparable loss of the person he was strongly attached to in the past.
2. Deeper Meaning of the Trilogy
After an analysis on the surface meaning of Guns N’ Roses’ trilogy “Don’t Cry”, “November Rain”, and “Estranged”, this study takes the trilogy into
conclusion that it is a trilogy about sincere love, flawed relationship, and regrets. Since this study deals with psychological approach, the researcher conducts the
analysis on the deeper meaning by applying the theory of motivation as proposed by Maslow 1970. Maslow states that motivation is not the only determinant; other
variables such as effort expended, ability, and previous experience also influence performance. In analyzing this trilogy, the researcher used the third hierarchy of
Maslow’s Theory of Motivation; which is “Love and Belongingness Needs”.
a. Don’t Cry
In the lyrics, the phrase “don’t cry” represents an expression to calm someone
down or an expression to ask someone not to cry. If we look deeper, Axl said that “don’t cry” phrase after he quarreled with Stephanie. He said it to her because
although he has broken his vow, he actually loved her very much. Axl was a young rock star with a deviate life style which was full of drugs,
alcohol, and free sex at that time. Before he married Stephanie, he has ever been married to Erin Everly but they finally divorced because of
Axl’s deviate life style also. Until the time Axl found Stephanie, he told that he loved her and promised her
not to do the same mistakes again. Stephanie believed him and she was willing to accept him since she also loved him; but what happened after they got married were
not the same as her expectations, and that was the reason why she sad and cried. Based on the facts above, the researcher found the deeper meaning of the song
by analyzing Axl’s motivation when he was doing that action in his past life. At the
previous relationship with Erin Everly, Axl was still a young man; which identically full of delinquencies. In general, the nonage is the phase where people experiencing
fluctuation in their life; since it is the time where most things are changing. During the changing process from childhood to adulthood, there are many things that are
faced by everyone. Axl was a young rock star at that time; while the environment of a rock star
at that time was more diverge than nowadays since they were full of alcohol, drugs, and free sex. Of course there was two
desires that came to Axl’s mind at that time. The first was the need to be free as a young man and the second was the need of his
