Pretty Tied Up

"Pretty Tied Up"
"Pretty Tied Up"
Promotional single by Guns N' Roses
from the album Use Your Illusion II
Released	1992
Recorded	1990–1991
Studio	A&M; Record Plant; Studio 56; Image Recording; Conway; Metalworks Recording;
Genre	Hard rock
Length	4:46
Label	Geffen
Songwriter(s)	Izzy Stradlin
Producer(s)	Mike Clink; Guns N' Roses;

"Pretty Tied Up" (subtitled "The Perils of Rock n Roll Decadence") is a song by the rock band Guns N' Roses. Written by rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, it appears on the band's 1991 album Use Your Illusion II. The song opens with the sounds of a coral sitar played by Stradlin.

Stradlin's lyrics may have been inspired by a bondage encounter with a dominatrix and her client, which he described in an interview:^[2]

My Mexican friend Tony took me to meet this woman named Margot at her house. She gave us some tequila or something and she goes in the bedroom and we walk in and there's this big fat naked guy with an onion in his mouth. He's wearing women's underwear and high heels and he's tied up with duct tape against the wall. Me and Tony were like, What the fuck is going on here? Cracking up laughing. She was this dominatrix chick.

Slash has stated that the song was written one night at Stradlin's house, before the band went to Chicago to write. According to Slash, Stradlin was so high on heroin that night that he made a sitar out of a cymbal, a broomstick and some strings, thus serving as the inspiration for the sitar heard at the beginning of the track.^[3]

The song was first played live at the Rock in Rio 2 festival on January 20, 1991 and a live version of the song was released on the album Live Era: '87-'93.

Personnel

W. Axl Rose – lead vocals, production
Slash – lead guitar, production
Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, coral sitar, production
Duff McKagan – bass, production
Matt Sorum – drums, production
Dizzy Reed – piano, production

Charts

Chart (1992)	Peak position
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)^[4]	35

References

^ Law, Sam (June 24, 2021). "The 50 best albums from 1991". Kerrang!. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
^ "1992 - Musician". Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2010 – via Chopaway.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ Slash; Bozza, Anthony (2007). Slash. New York: Harper Entertainment. p. 258.
^ "Guns N Roses Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2017.

[1] Law, Sam (June 24, 2021). "The 50 best albums from 1991". Kerrang!. Retrieved August 17, 2021.

[2] "1992 - Musician". Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved October 19, 2010 – via Chopaway.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[3] Slash; Bozza, Anthony (2007). Slash. New York: Harper Entertainment. p. 258.

[sc_Billboardmainstreamrock_Guns_N_Roses-4] "Guns N Roses Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2017.

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