Song Lyric Sunday: All We Need Is…

Posted on by

Jim’s post One and Done gives us this week’s SLS challenge: to play a song which was recorded in just one take. We spoke about this briefly a couple of weeks ago in a comments chat, and he described it as ‘difficult but doable.’ I had by then chosen what I would play for this anyway but, as I usually do, I checked out the theme online and found several lists of candidates. They were markedly similar in what they chose, and it wouldn’t surprise me if someone else had found the same lists and we might be seeing House Of The Rising Sun today! I was pleased that my choice wasn’t on any of the lists, which I hope will mean that I’m not duplicating with any other participants. This is what I’m going for:

And here are the lyrics:

One, two, one, two, three, four

Shed a tear ’cause I’m missin’ you
I’m still alright to smile
Girl, I think about you everyday now
Was a time when I wasn’t sure
But you set my mind at ease
There is no doubt you’re in my heart now

Said, woman, take it slow
It’ll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience
Said, sugar, make it slow
And we’ll come together fine
All we need is just a little patience
(Patience)

I sit here on the stairs
‘Cause I’d rather be alone
If I can’t have you right now, I’ll wait, dear
Sometimes, I get so tense
But I can’t speed up the time
But you know, love
There’s one more thing to consider

Said, woman, take it slow
And things will be just fine
You and I’ll just use a little patience
Said, sugar, take the time
‘Cause the lights are shinin’ bright
You and I’ve got what it takes to make it
We won’t fake it
I’ll never break it
‘Cause I can’t take it

Little patience
Need a little patience, yeah
Just a little patience, yeah

Some more patience
I’ve been walkin’ the streets at night
Just tryin’ to get it right (a little patience)
It’s hard to see with so many around
You know I don’t like bein’ stuck in the crowd (could use some patience)
And the streets don’t change, but maybe the names
I ain’t got time for the game ’cause I need you (gotta have more patience)
Yeah, yeah, but I need you
Oh, I need you (all it takes is patience)
Oh, I need you (just a little patience)
Oh, this time (is all you need)

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Guns N’ Roses

Patience lyrics © Aegean Music, Guns N’ Roses Music, Black Frog Music, Wham Music Limited (gb 2)

I’ve edited the credits slightly. Rather bizarrely, Musixmatch identified the writer of the song as being George Michael, not the collective G N’R effort that it actually was! But if you’re interested, do check out the Songfacts page for this one: it is a mass of nonentities claiming that they wrote it, and it’s very funny. We’re used to seeing lunatics spouting weird conspiracy theories and it seems that they have latched onto this, but no one mentions George Michael!

Patience was a track on Guns N’ Roses’ second studio album, G N’ R Lies, which came out in November 1988 and reached #2 in the US and #22 in the UK. It was the only single taken from the album, in April 1989, and peaked at #4 the US and #10 in the UK. The song was recorded in a single session by producer Mike Clink.

The motivation for the track is generally accepted to be the troublesome relationship between Axl Rose and his now ex-wife Erin Everly, though this was never definitively confirmed, either at the time or since. According to bass guitarist Duff McKagan, “Axl came up with a great lyric, seemingly out of nowhere, that of course became the story and melody of that song.” It has also been stated by the band that Izzy Stradlin wrote the song about his ex-girlfriend Angela Nicoletti McCoy: either way, it appears to be a band effort!

Another interesting little snippet is that the video was shot in The Ambassador Hotel, in Los Angeles, which was made famous due to its being the location of Robert Kennedy’s assassination in 1968. At the time of this recording the hotel was inoperative and scheduled for demolition: that finally happened in 2006. So all the people you see in the video are actors playing the scenes in a shell of a building – cleverly done.

The album is a bit of a mix, comprising just eight tracks. Side One was a re-release of a four track faux-live EP, and Side Two, which begins with Patience, is four acoustic songs. I bought it at the time, and have always liked it – this is the standout track for me, though. It sold more than 5m copies in the US, 250k in Germany and 100k in the UK. The single sold a further 500k in the US and 200k in the UK. Watching this video again, I think it has stood the test of time, as its 777m views attest: it is no surprise to me that the band has regularly played the song in live shows. They are still going strong, with three of the original members. They played the Glastonbury Festival this year, and while they haven’t released an album since 2008 they have given us two EPs in recent times, so maybe a new album isn’t out of the question. It would be good for fans if it came to pass!

That’s all for now. I’ll be back for Tuesday Tunes, which is currently being merged with my Advent Countdown. If you missed the most recent one, you’ll find it here if you want to catch up.

See you soon 😊

30 thoughts on “Song Lyric Sunday: All We Need Is…”

  2. Interesting challenge. My problem is I have no idea how many takes most takes a song took an artist to make. I’m kind of a power ballad nerd, so this one hits all the sweet spots for me.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • It was a good topic this week. There are plenty of lists available from a Google search but this one wasn’t among them: I found it quite by chance in something I was reading a few weeks ago. I’m glad it ticked the boxes for you 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. I will never forget how we thought welcome to the jungle was so edgy. I do enjoy this song too. Trying to separate the man from his music. Though I do like Slash.

    Like

    Reply

    • They sure do. Glad you like this one too, Jim. And I like the way the whistling bookends the song, proving that they didn’t always need an iconic intro by Slash. I guess partners and loved ones are a staple subject for songwriters – many have gone down that road.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. Not sure if you know the double album from Elton John called “Blue Moves”….it was a huge flop that sent him into a creative tailspin for a few years before his 80’s comeback…on it is the song “Bite Your Lip (Get Up And Dance!)”. I read a book about his 70’s music and it seems, fueled up on many things, he recorded the song live one time with his band, it became a 8+ minute celebratory rocker, and he announced proudly it would be his next #1 hit. It tanked…if you give it a listen, it’s pretty good but he had run his course by then it seems with the public!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Please leave a reply, I'd like to know what you think