"Estranged" is a sprawling hard rock ballad composed by Axl Rose for Guns N' Roses, appearing on the band's 1991 album Use Your Illusion II. Exceeding nine minutes in length, the composition is built on a piano foundation that Rose wrote after hearing the parts in a dream, layered with expansive guitar work and an emotionally turbulent vocal performance. The song's structure departs from conventional rock formats, unfolding in a free-form, meandering progression with multiple verses but no traditional set chorus, creating a sense of restless searching that mirrors its lyrical themes. Rose wrote the piece during a period of deep personal turmoil surrounding the annulment of his marriage to Erin Everly, channeling feelings of estrangement from relationships, bandmates, and family into lyrics about unrequited love and loss of control. The composition serves as a thematic companion to "November Rain," continuing a narrative thread about emotional devastation that Rose explored across the Use Your Illusion albums. Musically, the piece builds through multiple movements, with piano-driven passages giving way to intensely layered guitar sections featuring Slash's lead work recorded with a Les Paul Gold Top using the rhythm pickup with the tone rolled down. The song's ambitious length and structural complexity made it one of the most challenging pieces in the band's catalog to perform live, with its frequent starts, stops, and extended solo passages demanding precise coordination.
