Axl Rose was one of Lisa Marie Presley‘s close friends, so her passing had a devastating impact on him. At Lisa’s funeral, he gave a lengthy speech to express his grief and talk about what their friendship meant for him. Apparently, Axl still has a hard time accepting Lisa’s unexpected passing.
“With Lisa’s passing, I knew if I was invited, I needed to come to these ceremonies,” Rose said before his tribute performance of ‘November Rain.’ “I hadn’t planned on speaking, and when I was put on the spot, I really didn’t know what to say. And I was tongue-tied and nervous. And I didn’t even really know what I said. But I, as I’m sure many of you, are still in shock, as I feel I’ll continue to be for quite some time. I feel like I’m supposed to be texting her, like right now, saying I’m here, telling her how wonderful everyone is.”
“I never in a million years imagined singing here, especially under these circumstances,” he continued. “This is truly devastating and, I’m sure excruciating for everyone here and those affected by her passing. At the same time, one can see how hard everyone’s worked and is working to make this as beautiful for Lisa as it can be. I’m honored to be here for Lisa and her family.”
“I don’t know that I deserve to be here,” Rose admitted, “especially speaking amongst those who have known Lisa for longer and were much closer than her and I, especially her family and those who have known her most of their lives or all of hers. I do know Lisa loved her family very much and was fiercely protective of her father, his legacy, and both her love for him and his love for her.”
“She was extremely proud,” he said, “as proud as anyone could ever be, of her father and his many accomplishments, his place in music, America and American and world history. She was also very proud of the ‘Elvis’ movie, how she felt it portrayed her father, and the care that was put into the film by those involved — Mr. Luhrmann’s vision and direction and Austin Butler’s dedication to the role of her father.”
Touching upon how his son Ben’s passing affected Lisa, Rose continued, “With Ben’s passing, Lisa’s life, and the rest of her family, and his loved ones, took a turn down a hard road that she was honored to the best of her abilities, seeking out help and choosing to help others who experienced or were experiencing such a loss and pain.”
“We are gathered here today to pay our respects to Lisa and her family,” the singer concluded his speech, “to share our memories and console one another to the degree that we’re able. And though under such difficult, heartbreaking, and somber circumstances, to celebrate the life of a friend, a loved one, a beautiful and good soul, and a cherished and deeply missed family member. Lisa’s loved and missed by many and will continue to be loved and missed by all those whose lives she touched.”
Following his speech, Axl sat down at the piano and performed Guns N’ Roses’ ‘November Rain’ during the services held at Graceland. Besides Rose, Billy Corgan, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah Ferguson also paid tribute to Lisa Marie Presley. It turns out that Axl Rose didn’t expect to be part of the memorial service program, as there were others much closer to her than him. However, he was a dear friend to Lisa for his support through the hard times she had.
