"Mr. Brownstone" is a song performed by Guns N' Roses. It appears on their 1987 album Appetite for Destruction. Slash relates that the song was written by him and Izzy Stradlin while they were at Izzy and his girlfriend Desi's apartment. He states that they were sitting around, complaining about being heroin addicts, when they started improvising lyrics and music ("Brownstone" is a slang term for heroin). When they had the lyrics all together, they wrote it down on the back of a grocery bag and brought it to Axl. Slash says the lyrics describe a typical day in the life of Slash and Izzy. He also states that it was the first song the band wrote after getting signed by Geffen Records.
Mr. Brownstone was the first Guns N' Roses single in the United Kingdom, appearing as a double A-Side, alongside "It's So Easy".
Velvet Revolver often performs this song live, along with "It's So Easy". This is because they are both popular Guns N' Roses songs in which Axl Rose's contribution to their creation was minimal and which are within Scott Weiland's vocal range.
One of two plays by mass murderer Seung-Hui Cho released after the Virginia Tech massacre is named after this song, and includes several references to its lyrics in the dialogue.
