"Civil War" is a hard rock composition written by Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan, featured on Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion II, released in 1991 on Geffen Records. The song is an anti-war statement that addresses political violence, governmental hypocrisy, and the human cost of conflict, with lyrics referencing historical events and quoting the film Cool Hand Luke with the line "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Musically, the composition opens with a brooding, fingerpicked acoustic guitar introduction before building into a powerful electric arrangement driven by Slash's layered guitar work and a dynamic rhythm section. The structure follows an expansive arc across its seven-minute runtime, incorporating shifts between introspective verses and anthemic, emotionally charged choruses, with an extended instrumental bridge that showcases Slash's soloing. The song first appeared publicly in 1990 on the charity compilation Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal before its inclusion on Use Your Illusion II, giving it an unusual release history for the band. "Civil War" became one of the more prominent tracks from the Use Your Illusion era, receiving significant radio airplay and a music video that interspersed performance footage with documentary imagery of real-world conflicts. It has remained a recurring presence in Guns N' Roses' live setlists across multiple lineup eras and reunion tours, reflecting its status as one of the band's most enduring and politically resonant compositions.
