Back Off Bitch

by **Soulmonster** Sat Aug 07, 2010 4:32 pm

BACK OFF BITCH

Album:
Use Your Illusion I, 1991, track no. 8.

Written by:
Paul Huge and Axl Rose.

Musicians:
Drums: Matt
Bass: Duff
Lead and Rhythm Guitars: Slash
Rhythm and Lead Guitars: Izzy
Vocals: Axl
Background Vocals: Slash, Duff

Live performances:
This song is pre-Guns N' Roses and dates back to Hollywood Rose or maybe even earlier since Axl's Lafayette friend, Paul Huge, is listed as co-writer and Axl himself has stated it dates back to 1982. It has almost exclusively been played in 1985 and 1986 but also once in 1991. In total it has, as of {UPDATEDATE}, at least been played {BOBSONGS} times.

Lyrics:

Oh baby, pretty baby
Oh honey, you let me down honey
I ain't playin' childhood games no more
I said it's time for me to even the score
So stake your claim, your claim to fame
But baby call another name
When you feel the fire, and taste the flame

Back off, back off bitch
Down in the gutter dyin' in the ditch
You better back off, back off bitch
Face of an angel with the love of a witch
Back off, back off bitch
Back off, back off bitch

Makin' love
Cheap heartbreaker, broken backed,
Nasty ballbreaker, stay out of my bed,
outta my head
If it's lovin' you, I'm better off dead

Back off, back off bitch
Down in the gutter dyin' in the ditch
You better back off, back off bitch
Face of an angel with the love of a witch
Back off, back off bitch
Back off, back off bitch

Emotions ripped, gone on a binge
Life lipped, I said you're off the hinge
Tellin' lies of such fame and glory
I don't even wanna hear your story

Back off, back off bitch
Down in the gutter dyin' in the ditch
You better back off, back off bitch
Face of an angel with the love of a witch
Back off, back off bitch
It's such a pity that you're such a bitch
Back off, back off bitch
It's time to burn-burn the witch
Back off, back off bitch
Back off, back off bitch
Back off, back off bitch
Bitch
Bitch
Bitch
Bitch

Hey wha'd'ya think he's tryin' to say there anyway?
I think it's something each person's s'posed to take in their own special way
Fucking bitch

Quotes regarding the song and its making:

Talking about writing the song:

I mean, there’s Back off Bitch that was written, like, in ’82.

Rockline, November 27, 1991

Introducing the song::

This is 'Back Off Bitch,' for every guy and girl who just bugs the fuck out of them.

Madame Wong's West, July 20, 1984

This is a real pretty tune. For everybody out there that has somebody, who won't fucking leave them alone, who bugs you a little too much, this song is called, 'Back Off Bitch'.

The Troubadour, November 22, 1985

Talking about recording the song:

I play the main solo. I used to play this high-end trill thing for the first solo, but I could never play it consistently. So I just took it off altogether and let Izzy put a lead on, which is really a lot cooler. [...] It's a contemporary-metal style song. [laughs] I mean, it's so generic in that way. It's like E, D, D, D flat, D-that kind of thing. [...] I am just picking them [the fast arpeggios]; I can't tap to save my life.

Guitar World, February 1992

by hellobeatle Sun May 22, 2011 4:08 am

Izzy plays lead on it too, right?

by **Soulmonster** Thu Jun 29, 2017 9:31 pm

by **Soulmonster** Wed Aug 09, 2017 12:30 pm

An early rocker that moved at a swift clip, “Back Off Bitch” was a Hollywood Rose carryover that Axl Rose wrote with Paul Tobias. The track showed up on a 1985 demo by Guns N’ Roses, and, considering its not-so-subtle lyrics, it’s remarkable how long the song meanders since it makes its point pretty early. That length could be one reason why it didn’t make Appetite. When it came out on Use Your Illusion I, “Back Off Bitch” felt like it found a home alongside “Bad Obsession” and “Double Talkin’ Jive.” It’s also the only song on the Illusion albums where Izzy Stradlin solos, taking the lead on the first one you hear (Slash handled the main solo). Rose’s former Hollywood bandmate Chris Weber sued the frontman in 1998, claiming he was one of the songwriters on the track, along with the earlier B-side “Shadow of Your Love.”

Source: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-double-album/

by **Soulmonster** Wed Aug 09, 2017 12:31 pm

hellobeatle wrote:Izzy plays lead on it too, right?

Yes

by **Soulmonster** Sat Apr 07, 2018 9:40 am

Raz Cue mentioned in his book (p. 139) that after having heard Axl sing with Rose (probably back in '84), he talked to his friends Mike Jagosz and Dave Anthony (lead singers in the bands Pyrrhus and Shire, respectively, and brothers) about how great Axl was. Mike and Dave would then mock Axl's vocals by shrieking "Back off, back off, bitch", indicating that the song dates to at least this time.

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