"And, so, when I picked up the guitar, suddenly, just playing a couple of notes really, really spoke to me. It was almost like I should have been doing it prior to that. You know, it was something that just felt really natural"
About this Quote
The subtext is a rejection of the manufactured pop-star arc. Slash came up in an era when authenticity was the currency: the right influences, the right look, the right band, but also the sense that the music chose you before the industry did. "Natural" is doing a lot of work here. It implies an internal compass, a bodily certainty, the kind of ease that fans hear as truth even when they don’t know the technical details.
Contextually, this also fits the mythology of guitar-driven hard rock in the late 80s: virtuosity returning as attitude, not conservatory. Guns N' Roses sold danger and precision at the same time, and Slash’s image - top hat, cigarette, wiry riffs - reads like someone who didn’t train for a role; he inhabited it. The line "I should have been doing it prior" turns backward-looking nostalgia into narrative fuel: not regret, but inevitability. It invites listeners to imagine their own latent calling, waiting for the right object to unlock it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Slash. (2026, January 15). And, so, when I picked up the guitar, suddenly, just playing a couple of notes really, really spoke to me. It was almost like I should have been doing it prior to that. You know, it was something that just felt really natural. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-so-when-i-picked-up-the-guitar-suddenly-just-145144/
Chicago Style
Slash. "And, so, when I picked up the guitar, suddenly, just playing a couple of notes really, really spoke to me. It was almost like I should have been doing it prior to that. You know, it was something that just felt really natural." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-so-when-i-picked-up-the-guitar-suddenly-just-145144/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"And, so, when I picked up the guitar, suddenly, just playing a couple of notes really, really spoke to me. It was almost like I should have been doing it prior to that. You know, it was something that just felt really natural." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/and-so-when-i-picked-up-the-guitar-suddenly-just-145144/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.



