| There Was a Time | |||||
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| Song by Guns N' Roses | |||||
| Album | Chinese Democracy | ||||
| Released | (Album) November 23, 2008 | ||||
| Recorded | 1994-2007 | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock | ||||
| Length | 6:41 | ||||
| Writers | Axl Rose, Paul Tobias, Tommy Stinson, Dizzy Reed | ||||
| Label | Geffen Records | ||||
| Producer | Axl Rose, Caram Costanzo | ||||
| Chinese Democracy chronology | |||||
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"There Was a Time" (often referred to as "T.W.A.T.") is the sixth song on Guns N' Roses' 2008 album Chinese Democracy.
Live[]
"There Was a Time" made its live debut along with "Better" and "I.R.S." as the "second wave" of Chinese Democracy songs at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on May 12th, 2006. While "Better" and "I.R.S." would become regular staples of the setlist for subsequent tours, "T.W.A.T." has only been performed on rare occasions. It is speculated that the song is too physically demanding for Axl to perform regularly, much like "Coma" or "Garden of Eden". This speculation can be backed up by comments Axl has made on Twitter and on stage, relating to the difficulty of singing the song.
After its debut, it was played in Madrid, Spain on May 25th, 2006. It was also played on three of the four dates of the Asian tour in December 2009. It was played for the last time to date in Hamilton, Ontario on January 24th 2010, bringing the total number of performances to six.
Personnel[]
- Guns N' Roses and former members
- Axl Rose - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, orchestral arrangement, synth orchestra, choir and additional horn arrangements, arrangement, drum arrangement, digital editing
- Robin Finck - lead guitar, guitar solo, additional arrangements
- Buckethead - lead guitar, guitar solo, additional arrangements
- Bumblefoot - guitar
- Paul Tobias - guitar, piano
- Richard Fortus - guitar
- Tommy Stinson - bass, background vocals, additional arrangements
- Dizzy Reed - keyboards, background vocals, orchestral arrangement, synth orchestra
- Chris Pitman - keyboards, bass (additional), sub-bass, mellotron, background vocals, orchestral arrangement, synth orchestra, drum programming, additional arrangements, drum arrangement
- Josh Freese - drum arrangement
- Brain - drums, drum arrangement
- Frank Ferrer - drums
- Other
- Orchestra - Marco Beltrami, Paul Buckmaster
- Orchestral arrangement - Marco Beltrami, Paul Buckmaster
- Choir and additional horn arrangements - Suzy Katayama
- Arrangement - Caram Costanzo, Eric Cadieux, Sean Beaven
- Drum arrangement - Caram Costanzo
- Digital editing - Eric Cadieux, Caram Costanzo, Sean Beaven, Billy Howerdell
There Was A Time artwork from the alternate version of Chinese Democracy.