"Don't Cry" is a song by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, two versions of which were released simultaneously on different albums.

There is also a third version, officially released only on the single for the song, which was recorded during Appetite for Destruction sessions in 1986.

[4] In fact, at a show in Atlantic City, NJ on September 12, 2021, Rose claimed it was "the first song that was written for Guns N’ Roses.”[5] In the 1993 video Don't Cry: Makin' F@*!ing Videos Part I Rose says that "Don't Cry" was their most Hanoi Rocks -influenced song.

In the Special Collector's Edition of Rolling Stone dedicated to the band, Kory Grow quotes Rose: It was [about] a girl that Izzy had gone out with, and I was really attracted to her, and they split up.

The next night, we got together and wrote the song in five minutes.At the September 2021 Atlantic City show cited above, Rose told the crowd: “I went over to Izzy’s and I threw some rocks at his window.

'”[5]In his book Over the Top: The True Story of Guns N' Roses, Mark Putterford notes the song's contrast with much of the other material on the Illusion albums, citing Rose's "deeply ingrained whore/madonna dichotomy" and his "dew-eyed romantic cooing with tenderness.

"[8] Along with "Estranged" and "November Rain," it forms a narrative inspired in part by the short story "Without You" by Del James.

[11] Rose commented on the difficulty of filming the video and how certain scenes inspired by his relationship with Erin Everly affected him emotionally: With our video for "Don't Cry," and the fight that Stephanie Seymour, (Axl's then-current girlfriend) and I had over the gun, you don't necessarily know what's going on.

It was absent from the early legs (i.e. 2001–02) of the Chinese Democracy Tour but reappeared to an extent in 2006, as guitarist Bumblefoot began using an instrumental version of the song as a guitar solo spot.

"Don't Cry" made another return during the 2009/2010 World Tour, with Axl singing along with the solo spot on each occasion that it has been played.