Welcome to the Jungle

Infobox Single |
Name = Welcome to the Jungle


Artist = Guns N' Roses
from Album = "Appetite for Destruction"
Released = 1987
Format = Vinyl single (7", 12")
Cassette
CD
Recorded = 1987
Genre = Hard rock
Length = 04:33
Label = Geffen
Writer = Axl Rose
Slash
Producer = Mike Clink
Chart position = * #7 (US)
Last single = "It's So Easy"
(1987)
This single = "Welcome to the Jungle"
(1988)
Next single = "Sweet Child o' Mine"
(1988)
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = "Appetite for Destruction"
Type = studio
this_track = "Welcome to the Jungle"
track_no = 1
next_track = "It's So Easy"
next_no = 2"Welcome to the Jungle" is the first track from Guns N' Roses' debut album, "Appetite for Destruction", and also on their Greatest Hits album. The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first significant hit single.

Origins

"Welcome to the Jungle" was written by singer Axl Rose and Slash. (Slash considers it the first song the band ever wrote together.) According to Rose, the inspiration for the lyrics came from an encounter he and a friend had with a man while they were sleeping in a school yard in Queens. When they were approached by the "little black man", [http://home5.swipnet.se/~w-52838/songinfo.html#jungle] he yelled at them, "You know where you are? You're in the jungle baby; you're gonna die!" This incident inspired the main lyrical declaration for the song. The eponymous line was also featured in the 1984 song "Underwater World" by the Finnish glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, whom Rose has acknowledged as inspiration.

While the New York incident inspired the lyrics, the song was written in Seattle, and described Los Angeles. In a 1988 interview with "Hit Parader" magazine, Rose stated, "I wrote the words in Seattle. It's a big city, but at the same time it's still a small city compared to L.A. and the things that you're gonna learn. It seemed a lot more rural up there. I just wrote how it looked to me. If someone comes to town and they want to find something, they can find whatever they want." [http://hem.passagen.se/snoqalf/art-199311-AB.html]

Musically, Slash describes the development of the song in his autobiography. As the band was sitting around trying to come up with new material, Axl remembered a riff Slash had played while he was living in the basement of Slash's mother's house. Slash played it and the band quickly laid down the foundations for the song, as Slash kept on coming up with new guitar parts for it. He credits Duff McKagan as coming up with the breakdown. According to Slash, the song was written in about three hours, and was arranged virtually the same way as on the album right there. [Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). "Slash". Harper Entertainment: New York. pp. 108-109]

Video

In spite of the early morning airtime, the clip caught viewers' attention and quickly became MTV's most requested video. The video and single received another boost of publicity when "Welcome to the Jungle" was featured in "The Dead Pool" in the summer of 1988.

The video starts with a shot of Axl Rose getting off of a bus in New York, wearing casual 'normal' clothes. Slash can briefly be seen sitting against a wall, drinking from a bottle in a brown paper bag. Axl stops to watch TV in a store window. Clips of the TV shows that Axl is watching are interspersed with footage of the band playing live. At the end of the video, Axl has transformed into a rockstar, wearing the appropriate clothing.

Remixes

3 dance remixes of the song were released in 2007. 'Dirty Funker' released two of these, and titled them: 'Welcome to The Jungle (Uzi Suicide Remix)' and "Welcome to the Jungle (Dirty Dub Hole Remix)

The Uzi Suicide Remix, heavily samples the original song and adds a new drum beat and bass line with a slightly rearranged song structure.A sample of the song can be heard here: [http://www.hardtofindrecordsrecordstore.com/mp3/MR224466_1.mp3]

The Dirty Dub Hole Remix, uses infrequent samples of the original track over the new drum beat and bass line (from the Uzi Suicide Remix).A sample of the song can be heard here: [http://www.hardtofindrecordsrecordstore.com/mp3/MR224466_2.mp3]

The 3rd remix of the song was made by 'DLG' and titled "DLG VS G&R Welcome to the Jungle"This remix primarily samples the songs famous descending intro guitar line, and builds it around new drum and bass lines. The structure of the song is radically different than the original, and does not sample any of the vocals from the GN’R track.The song can be heard here: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtOsMkKEGP8]

"Welcome to the Jungle" and Noriega

The song was famously used during the Operation Just Cause invasion of Panama in 1989. When Manuel Noriega fled to the Vatican Embassy in Panama, U.S. troops surrounded the embassy and played loud music. Noriega enjoyed opera and detested rock music in general.

The "Washington Post" News Service reported, "With U.S. troops at the Vatican embassy continuing to wage psychological warfare against Noriega by blaring rock music over loudspeakers and greeting him with a hearty 'Gooood Morning Panama'." And so, to irritate and intimidate him (and to enjoy themselves in the process), the troops set up their loudspeakers and blasted the Vatican embassy with some "good ol' kickass American rock 'n' roll" — Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" was the first song to come roaring through the speakers. These were eventually stopped upon request by the Vatican. A few days later, Noriega surrendered due to international pressure.

However, despite the popular conception that the music was a form of psychological torture aimed at Noriega, it has since been revealed that the entire operation was merely meant to prevent press organizations equipped with parabolic microphones from listening in on delicate negotiations occurring within the embassy [http://www.psywarrior.com/PanamaHerb.html Reference] .

Accolades

The song is considered to be one of the greatest hard rock hits of all time.Fact|date=October 2008

Honors for the song include:
*Ranked #2 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs. ["VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs", 1 May-4 May 2006, "VH1" Channel, reported by [http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/103446/episode_this_list.jhtml VH1.com] ; last accessed October 20, 2006.]
*Ranked #467 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
*Ranked #764 on "Q Magazine's" 1001 Best Songs Ever [http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/releases/appetite-for-destruction/welcome-to-the-jungle.html]
*Ranked #26 on VH1's 100 Greatest 80s Songs.
*Named the "greatest song about Los Angeles" by a poll in "Blender" magazine. [http://in.news.yahoo.com/061211/139/6a6x4.html]

*The song was in "" as a song on the radio. The song was also played during the trailer for the game.
*John 5 recorded an instrumental cover of "Welcome to the Jungle" for his 2007 album "The Devil Knows My Name".
*Grindcore band Hewhocorrupts has also covered this song on their album called "The Discographer".
*In the video game "", the character Axel makes a reference to the song where he states, "Welcome to the Colosseuem; we've got fun and games!"
*The song has been used three times in "The Simpsons". It has been featured in "Marge on the Lam" (when Marge was going out with Ruth), "Eight Misbehavin'" (when Apu's children are being exploited), and "Mobile Homer" (when Bart and Lisa are driving away with the mobile home). Also, in "Bart Has Two Mommies", Ned Flanders sings a parody of the song while padding his backyard so that his sons Rod and Todd do not get hurt by playing. In another episode, Homer says 'Welcome to the Jungle, Kevin'.
*The song is a master track in the video game "", where you play it with Slash after beating him in a boss battle with an originally-composed track by him.
*The song is often heard during Cincinnati Bengals home games due to the teams home stadium, Paul Brown Stadium's jungle-esque theme. The stadium's nickname is "The Jungle".
*There is a quest in World of Warcraft in the Stranglethorn Vale called "Welcome to the Jungle"
*The song is also played at the beginning of virtually every game in the National Lacrosse League
*The song is played as an introduction for the Minnesota Vikings during every home game.
*The song is also played as an introduction for the Danish football club Aalborg BK during every home game.
*The Manchester Monarchs use the song as an introduction at their home games.
*The Philadelphia Eagles play the song during kick off at their home games.
*The Saskatchewan Roughriders play the song right before and during kickoff.
*"Welcome to the Jungle" was also the theme song of the professional wrestler Mick Foley [Foley, Mick. "Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks" (p.184)]
*The Auburn University football team plays the opening riffs of the song at every home game. It is usually played whenever the visiting team is in a down and long scenario, but mostly used on third down to pump the crowd up to help the defense.
*The song is played frequently at the New York Islanders home games.
*The song is played by the New York Jets at every home game during player introductions.
*The song is played at the beginning of Pittsburg State University sporting events. (The school's mascot is a Gorilla)
*The premiere two-parter of Power Rangers Jungle Fury is entitled "Welcome to the Jungle."
*The song is played frequently by the New England Patriots.
*the song is played at every Bloomington Prarie Thunder hockey game
*This song is nominated for the official Season 4 Intro Contest for Jones Jeans Jones at jonesjeans.piczo.com
*The song is freqently played in the Rose Garden, during Portland Trail Blazers games in the last minute of the game. The Boston Celtics also play the song in a similar practice, particularly in the playoffs. The TD Banknorth Garden is aptly called "The Jungle" as a result.
*Eric Gagné used it when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2002-2005.
*The song is played right before tipoff of Syracuse Orange basketball games at the Carrier Dome.
*The song is played at the beginning of every third segment of the hour for "The Jim Rome Show". The show is often referred to as "The Jungle".
*The song was played during Rich Franklin's entrance to UFC 77.
*This song is played at Orlando Predators games when the team is running out onto the field, referring to the predators hunting "In The Jungle"
*The song is played before any opponent's third down attempt at the University of Connecticut football games at Rentschler Field.
*The song is used in the 2008 film "Death Race" in the Theatrical trailers and some TV spots
*The video for this song was reviewed on a Canadian show: Video on Trial
*The song is played right before tip off of St. John's University basketball games at Madison Square Garden and Carnesecca Arena.
*The Utah Jazz use this song for the beginning of the first quarter.
*The pilot episode of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" was named "Welcome to the Hellmouth" after the song.Fact|date=October 2008

References

External links

*Herbert A. Friedman. [http://www.psywarrior.com/PanamaHerb.html U.S. Psyop in Panama (Operation Just Cause).]
*Danny Sugerman. "Appetite for Destruction: The Days of Guns N' Roses". St. Martin's Press, 1991. ISBN 0-312-07634-7
*"20 questions with Steven Adler" [http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1127&Itemid=1]
* [http://www.vh1classic.com/view/artist/846/18144/Guns_N_Roses/Welcome_to_the_Jungle/index.jhtml Music Video] at VH1 Classic