"One In A Million" lyrics

"One In A Million"

Guess I needed some time to get away
I needed some peace of mind, some peace of mind that'll stay
So I thumbed it down to 6th in L.A
Maybe a Greyhound could be my way
Police and niggers, that's right, get out of my way
Don't need to buy none of your gold chains today
Now, don't need no bracelets clamped in front of my back
Just need my ticket, 'til then, won't you cut me some slack

You're one in a million, yeah, that's what you are
You're one in a million, babe, you're a shooting star
Maybe someday we'll see you before you make us cry
You know we tried to reach you but you were much too high
Much too high, much too high, much too high

Immigrants and faggots, they make no sense to me
They come to our country and think they'll do as they please
Like start some mini Iran or spread some fucking disease
They talk so many God damn ways, it's all Greek to me
Well, some say I'm lazy and others say that's just me
Some say I'm crazy, I guess I'll always be
But it's been such a long time since I knew right from wrong
It's all the means to and end, I, I keep it moving along
Hey, hey, hey, yeah

You're one in a million, yeah, you're a shooting star
You're one in a million, babe, you know that you are
Maybe some day we'll see you before you make us cry
You know we tried to reach you but you were much too high
Much too high, much too high, much too high, oh

Radicals and racists, don't point your finger at me
I'm a small town white boy just trying to make ends meet
Don't need your religion, don't watch that much TV
Just making my living, baby, well, that's enough for me

You're one in a million, yeah, you know that you are
You're one in a million, babe, you're a shooting star
Maybe someday we'll see you before you make us cry
You know we tried to reach you but you were much too high
Much too high, much too high, oh, much too high

Much too high, much too high, much too high
Much too high, much too high, much too high


Writer(s): Duff Rose McKagan, Steven Adler, Izzy Stradlin, Saul Hudson, W. Axl Rose
Axl Rose told the following about the meaning of "One In A Million", "I started writing about wanting to get out of L.A., getting away for a little while." He also explained Interview Magazine in May of 1992, "It was originally written as comedy. It was written watching Sam Kinison during one of his first specials. I was sitting around with friends, drunk, with no money. One of my friends had just gotten robbed for seventy-eight cents on Christmas by two black men."
Being accused of homophobia because of using the word "faggots" in these lyrics, Axl Rose said on the matter, "I'm not against them doing what they want to do as long as it's not hurting anybody else and they're not forcing it upon me." He also shared his reasons, "I've had some very bad experiences with homosexuals. When I was first coming to Los Angeles, I was about eighteen or nineteen. On my first hitchhiking ride, this guy told me I could crash at his hotel. I went to sleep and woke up while this guy was trying to rape me [...] That's why I have the attitude I have."
Slash told about his attitude towards this track in an interview with Musician magazine in 1990, "Everybody on the black side of my family was like 'What is your problem?' My old girlfriend said, 'You could have stopped it.' What am I supposed to say? Axl and I don't stop each other from doing things. Hopefully, if something is really bad, you stop it yourself ... I can't sit here with a clear conscience and say 'It's okay that it came out'. I don't condone it. But it happened, and now Axl is being condemned for it, and he takes it really personally. All I can say is that it's a lesson learned."
"One in a Million" was performed live only twice, both times acoustic and both times in New Your City: first, at CBGB music club in October of 1987; second, at The Limelight in January of 1988.
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