'I Know the Girl He Wrote It About' - Axl Rose Tells Crowd What Inspired Izzy Stradlin's Lyrics on '90s Guns N' Roses Hit

Axl Rose told a crowd what inspired Izzy Stradlin's lyrics on a '90s Guns N' Roses hit during one of the band's recent concerts.

After playing the Use Your Illusion II track "You Could Be Mine" at their show in Hollywood, Fla. on April 30, Rose recalled where Stradlin's inspiration for some of the lyrics came from.

"That song's always fun to do. But when I'm singing it — every time — I'm thinking, I wonder how many of these people really think I'm that asshole thinking those things," the singer said in fan-filmed footage from the night.

"But the verses were written by Izzy and he wasn't necessarily being an asshole. I know the girl he wrote it about. And it really was: she could be his if she would stop all the blow and all the [chattering hand motion] and all the other crap!"

Rose said that he wrote the middle of the song about his own relationship, so the track was ultimately a combination of both of their anger over what they'd been through with their romantic partners.

The rocker then added that Stradlin borrowed the phrase "you could be mine" from The Rolling Stones, as it's a line that's repeated in the title track of their 1980 album Emotional Rescue. 

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"It's really fucking fun to sing," Rose concluded before the band broke into another Use Your Illusion II song, "Yesterdays."

See the clip below.

Stradlin wrote or co-wrote the lyrics to a lot of Guns' songs during his time in the group. Rose occasionally tells stories about his ex-bandmate during their shows but there hasn't been any word of them reconciling in recent years.

Axl Rose Tells Crowd What Inspired Izzy Stradlin's Lyrics on '90s Guns N' Roses Hit

See where "You Could Be Mine" lands in our ranking of every Guns N' Roses song below.