Album '4', interview with Slash and Miles Kennedy: 'That point where you wave the white flag'

SLASH: After one of the Guns tour legs was over, I went on safari in South Africa. I took a guitar with me, and one night I came up with the opening melody to this one. So, the lick came first, but I had to figure out where to go with it from there. Then during the Living the Dream tour that we had after that, I came up with the verse, and Myles had some great ideas for that. There was also a guitar melody part, which initially was going to be an instrumental part, but it ended up being the chorus. There were all these different pieces, but they seemed to relate to the same thing. 

The song really came together in Nashville. We fleshed it out, and there were harmony parts and things that just happened spontaneously in the studio. I hadn't actually planned them,  and they weren’t on the demo, but I did them while Dave Cobb was in the bathroom. [laughs] He came back. and I'd worked out this whole harmony and everything. So, it took me a minute to figure out where the song was going to go, but I'm really happy with the way it came out.  

KENNEDY: This is one of those tracks that has the hallmark of what Slash does melodically with his guitar parts. It’s what so many people gravitate toward in his playing. And it’s a song where, once again, Dave made some suggestions. We had a chorus section and he said, “That section is fine, but maybe it'd be better suited in the middle of the song, almost as a bridge…” And he suggested taking that signature guitar riff and using it as the chorus, and then having it repeat throughout the song. So, it’s interesting because the chorus melody isn't about the vocal, it’s about the guitar. I'm just there to help support what Slash is doing.

As far as the lyric, it's about watching someone gain the world while losing themselves. It’s written from the perspective of seeing someone do that, while also letting them know that you'll be there to catch them when it all comes crashing down. But in general, the hook in this one is so “Slash.” To me it really defines what he does. For that reason, I think it's going to be a fan favorite.