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"Estranged" is a song and music video by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, from their fourth album Use Your Illusion II.
"Estranged" is the longest song on Use Your Illusion II, and one of Guns N' Roses' longest overall. It has many verses, and no set chorus, as well as distinguished guitar and piano solos. Use Your Illusion II's liner notes thank Slash for "the killer guitar melodies," which captured Axl Rose's vision. Slash has specifically stated that recording the guitar parts for this song was very intensive for him; he recorded it using a Les Paul Gold Top, using the treble pickup with the tone turned all the way down.
According to Slash, the song was written while the band was rehearsing for an extended period of time in Chicago. Axl revealed that he wrote the song during a more "bummed out" time in his life.
The music video is the third and final part of an unofficial trilogy of videos (preceded by "Don't Cry" and "November Rain") from the two Use Your Illusion albums which featured a stunning theatrical film type cinematography. This, like its predecessors had a massive budget, approximately reaching $8.5 million.
The over nine-minute-long video for "Estranged" is similar in style to the previous two in the trilogy; however, it appears only loosely to pick up the theme. This is mainly because Axl Rose and then-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour (who played Axl's girlfriend in "Don't Cry" and "November Rain") had broken up prior to filming, making the theme of separation/divorce highly relevant.
The video begins by showing Axl pursued by a group of SWAT team members while hidden in what appeared to be an abandoned mansion. Later, in a flashback, Axl is shown being escorted off that same (presumably marital) property. During this sequence, dictionary definitions for "Estranged" are flashed across the screen suggesting that Axl is going through a separation. Definitions of illusion and disillusion also appear. In the final sequence, Axl goes to an oil tanker, where in the video's climax, he leaps into the water in an apparent suicide attempt but ends up being rescued by a group of bottlenose dolphins. The video is also known for the memorable scene where Slash walks on water while playing a guitar solo. The video contains multiple shots of the Rainbow bar, which is also seen in the music video for "November Rain". The video ends with a note from Axl which says, Lose your Illusions, Love Axl GNR '93.
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