"Perhaps" | ||||
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Single by Guns N' Roses | ||||
B-side | "The General"[1] | |||
Released | August 18, 2023 | |||
Recorded | 1999–2001, 2023 | |||
Length | 3:48 | |||
Label | Geffen | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Guns N' Roses singles chronology | ||||
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Audio | ||||
"Perhaps" on YouTube | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Perhaps" on YouTube |
"Perhaps" is a song by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released as a single on August 18, 2023.[2][3] A limited edition 7-inch vinyl, with "The General" as its "R-side", was originally scheduled to be released on October 27, 2023 but the release was postponed to December 8, 2023.[4][1] Like the band's previous two singles, "Absurd" and "Hard Skool", the origins of this song date back to the writing and recording process of Chinese Democracy from the late 1990s.[5]
"Perhaps" was originally recorded during the Chinese Democracy sessions in 2000, and was leaked online in 2019 alongside other tracks from the same era.[5]
The song was rehearsed at the soundcheck for the Tel Aviv concert on June 5, 2023, and again before the band's Glasgow concert on June 27, 2023.[6][7] Prior to the release, the song was leaked through digital jukeboxes in bars across the United States.[8] The song features drumming from former band member Brain.[9]
"Perhaps" was first played live on August 18, 2023, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[10]
The music video for the song shows footage of the band live and backstage during the 2023 European Tour.[11]
The single's "R-side" "The General", which was also originally conceived during the Chinese Democracy sessions, was performed live for the first time at The Hollywood Bowl on November 2, 2023.[12] It was released on streaming platforms on December 8, 2023.[13] The song features former Guns N’ Roses members Brain and Chris Pitman as well as composer Marco Beltrami and guitarist Marc Haggard.[14]
Rolling Stone called the piano-driven track good and described it as being "mid-tempo rocker in the vein of Use Your Illusion II's more mellow "Yesterdays" or Chinese Democracy’s standout "Catcher in the Rye"".[15] In its positive review, Billboard described the song as "a twisty, turgid ballad" featuring "a piano-pounding riff", "Rose's signature howl" and "one of Slash's classic hurricane solos".[16]
7-inch vinyl
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Perhaps" | Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan, Paul Tobias[17] | 3:48 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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2. | "The General" | Rose, Slash, McKagan, Brain, Steve Freeman, Marc Haggard[18] | 4:22 |
Guns N' Roses[9]
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
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Croatia (HRT)[20] | 93 |
Japan (Oricon)[21] | 21 |
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[22] | 40 |
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[23] | 36 |
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[24] | 24 |
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[25] | 48 |