It’s easy to get lost in the forest of radio hits. When people talk about Appetite for Destruction, they usually pivot immediately to the haunting whistle of "Patience" (even though that was Lies) or the stadium-shaking riff of "Sweet Child O' Mine." But if you really want to understand the grime and the sweat of 1987 Los Angeles, you have to talk about Guns N Roses I Think About You.
It’s track four. It sits right there between the chaotic "Nightrain" and the predatory "Mr. Brownstone."
Most people skip over it because it doesn’t have the massive, cinematic build-up of "Welcome to the Jungle." That’s a mistake. Honestly, it’s one of the most honest moments on the entire record. It’s a love song, sure, but it’s a love song written by guys who hadn't showered in three days and were living in a rehearsal space they called "The Hell House."
The Raw Origin of Guns N Roses I Think About You
Izzy Stradlin wrote this one. Well, mostly Izzy.
If you look at the early songwriting credits for the band, Izzy was the secret weapon. While Axl was the lightning rod and Slash was the cool factor, Izzy was the one bringing that Stones-y, Keith Richards-inspired grit. He wrote "I Think About You" long before the band was selling out arenas. In fact, it was part of their setlist back when they were still playing clubs like The Troubadour and The Roxy.
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It dates back to the Hollywood Rose days.
Think about that for a second. The song existed before the "classic" lineup was even fully solidified. It was a staple of their early demo tapes, including the ones they recorded with producer Spencer Proffer. When you listen to the Appetite version, you’re hearing a song that has been road-tested until it was lean and mean.
There’s no fat on this track. Two minutes and thirty-nine seconds. That's it.
Why the tempo matters
Unlike "Paradise City," which feels like an epic journey, "I Think About You" is a sprint. It’s fast. It’s frantic. It captures that specific feeling of being young and broke in a city that wants to eat you alive. Axl’s vocals aren't polished here; he’s pushing his voice into that signature rasp, but there’s a melodic sweetness underneath that he rarely showed on the rest of the album.
He’s singing about a girl, but he’s also singing about escapism.
"One say I'm rich, next day I'm poor... it doesn't matter no more."
That line basically sums up the entire ethos of the Sunset Strip in the mid-80s. You could be a star on Tuesday and sleeping on a floor on Wednesday. The only constant was the people you were running with.
Decoding the Sound: Slash and Izzy's Interplay
One thing most casual listeners miss about Guns N Roses I Think About You is how the guitars work together. This isn't just a lead guitarist and a rhythm guitarist. It’s a weave.
Slash isn't just playing a solo; he’s adding these little melodic "stings" throughout the verses. If you listen closely to the left and right channels, you can hear Izzy holding down a very dirty, blues-based chord progression while Slash dances around it. It’s messy in the best way possible. It sounds like a garage band that happened to have the best chemistry in the history of rock.
Mike Clink, the producer, deserves a ton of credit here. He didn't try to clean them up. He let the guitars bleed into each other. He kept that "pushed" drum sound from Steven Adler.
Adler’s "Swing"
We have to talk about Steven Adler. People love to trash his technical ability compared to Matt Sorum, but Sorum could never have played "I Think About You" with this much "swing." Adler was a disco and pop fan, and it showed in his right hand. He doesn't just hit the snare; he pushes the song forward. On this specific track, his cowbell work—yeah, there’s cowbell—is actually tasteful. It adds a layer of "street" percussion that makes the song feel like it’s happening in a dark alleyway.
The Lyrics: A Different Kind of Love Song
Most 80s "hair metal" love songs were power ballads. They had big synthesizers and even bigger hair. They were designed to be played at proms.
Guns N Roses I Think About You is the opposite.
It’s a punk rock love song. It’s aggressive. It acknowledges the "pollution" and the "neon lights" of the city. It’s not about flowers; it’s about finding one person who makes the chaos of Hollywood tolerable.
- It mentions the "sands of time."
- It talks about "vivid colors."
- It focuses on the "diamond eyes" of the subject.
It’s surprisingly poetic for a band that was being marketed as the "most dangerous band in the world." It showed that they had a depth that their peers—bands like Poison or Warrant—just didn't have. They weren't just writing hooks; they were writing about their actual lives.
Why It Often Gets Overlooked
Look, when you’re on an album that has "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Welcome to the Jungle," some songs are going to get overshadowed. It’s inevitable.
"I Think About You" never became a massive radio single. It didn't get a high-budget music video with Axl Rose dancing in a kilt. Because of that, it stayed a "fan favorite" rather than a "world favorite." But if you ask any die-hard GNR fan which song represents the energy of the band the best, they’ll usually point to this one or "Rocket Queen."
It’s also a shorter song. In a genre that started leaning into 6-minute epics, a sub-3-minute blast of rock and roll can feel like an interlude. But it’s not an interlude. It’s the engine room of the album.
The Live Evolution
If you go back and watch bootlegs from 1986, the band played this song with even more venom. Sometimes they’d stretch out the ending. Duff McKagan’s bass would lead the charge, creating this pulsing, hypnotic groove. By the time they hit the Use Your Illusion tour in the 90s, the song mostly disappeared from the setlist. They had too many hits to play.
The fact that they stopped playing it as much actually preserved its legacy. It didn't get "worn out" by classic rock radio. When you hear it now, it still feels fresh. It still feels like a discovery.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Song's Meaning
There’s a common misconception that every song on Appetite is about drugs or a specific "groupie."
While "Mr. Brownstone" is obviously about heroin, "I Think About You" is much more grounded. It’s actually about a specific girl from Izzy’s past, but Axl sang it with such conviction that many people assumed it was about one of his own relationships. This is the brilliance of the early GNR songwriting dynamic: Izzy provided the structure and the story, and Axl provided the raw, bleeding emotion.
It wasn't a "fake" song written to get on the charts. It was a diary entry.
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How to Truly Appreciate the Track Today
If you want to experience Guns N Roses I Think About You the way it was intended, you have to stop listening to it on tinny smartphone speakers.
- Get a decent pair of headphones. You need to hear the separation between Slash and Izzy.
- Listen to the 2018 Locked N' Loaded Remaster. The remastering job actually brought the bass up a bit, which helps you hear what Duff was doing. He plays some incredibly melodic lines during the chorus that often get buried in the original mix.
- Compare it to the "1986 Sound City Session" version. This version is slower, grittier, and more blues-oriented. It shows you how the band "tightened the screws" to make it the high-energy anthem it became on the album.
The Actionable Insight for GNR Fans
Don't treat Appetite for Destruction as a collection of hits. Treat it as a narrative of a specific week in Los Angeles.
If you're building a playlist or introducing someone to the band, don't start with the hits they've already heard a thousand times. Start with the "deep cuts" that define the sound. Guns N Roses I Think About You is the perfect entry point for someone who wants to understand the transition from punk to hard rock.
Next Steps for the Listener:
- Analyze the Lyrics: Read the lyrics while listening. Notice how the imagery of the city (neon lights, pollution) contrasts with the "remembrance" of the person he's singing about.
- Check out Hollywood Rose: Look for the The Roots of Guns N' Roses album. You can hear the early versions of this track and see how much it evolved once Slash and Duff joined the fold.
- Focus on the Rhythm: On your next listen, ignore the vocals and the lead guitar. Just follow the bass and the drums. You'll realize that the song is actually a masterclass in "pocket" playing—staying in the groove without overplaying.
This song isn't just "track four." It’s the proof that Guns N' Roses were more than just a loud band; they were a group of songwriters who knew how to capture lightning in a bottle.