If the title of Guns N’ Roses’ 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, wasn’t enough of a warning, then the album’s opener, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, introduced listeners to their signature chaos: “Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here every day,” singer Axl Rose wails, “You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play.”

The general premise of ‘Welcome to the Jungle’s lyrical origins stays the same: Rose steps off a bus and, faced with the overwhelming menace of a city, is prompted to chronicle the disorder that lies before him. What changes, however, is the city that inspired his song in the first place.

Understandably, with all of its glittering hedonism, it is widely believed that ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ is about Los Angeles. Guns N’ Roses’ origins in the City of Angels lend to the theory, as well, living in their infamous “Hell House” in West Hollywood that served as a combined home, rehearsal space and realm of debauchery for the city’s outcasts.

As Guns N’ Roses began to garner a following in Hollywood’s club circuit, storming the legendary stages at The Troubadour and The Roxy, their name became increasingly synonymous with the city. Then-rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin seconded the theory of Los Angeles as a muse, describing the song as being “about Hollywood streets; true to life”.

Guitarist Slash claimed to SPIN that he had no recollection of where Rose’s lyrics came from, but he knows that they nonetheless fit perfectly with the riff he made on an acoustic guitar, sitting in his bedroom. “It was a very telling lyric – just the stark honesty of it,” guitarist Slash told Classic Rock. “If you lived in Los Angeles – and lived in the trenches, so to speak – you could relate to it.”

In 1988, however, Rose told Hit Parader that a trip to Seattle to visit a friend prompted his writing. “It’s a big city, but at the same time, it’s still a small city compared to LA and the things that you’re gonna learn,” Rose recounted. “It seemed a lot more rural up there. I just wrote how it looked to me. If someone comes to town and they want to find something, they can find whatever they want.”

In contrast, Rose told SPIN in 1999 that it was, in fact, a moment in New York City that inspired ‘Welcome to the Jungle’. Emerging from a bus stop, Rose and his friend were confronted by a homeless man who warned, “You know where you are? You’re in the jungle, baby, you’re gonna die!”

Regardless of the true setting of ‘Welcome to the Jungle’, the song foretold Guns N’ Roses’ rise to prominence as one of rock’s most notorious bands, known as much for their antics as for their masterful guitars and captivating lyricism.

“It was really the first thing we all collaborated on,” Slash revealed to Classic Rock, concluding, “In that whole ‘discovering ourselves’ period from ’85 through ’86 – when we were living together very haphazardly and getting together and jamming – there was something going on that not a lot of people had. And this song just had this natural feel that was very cool.”