Some songs tug at your heart, some songs hit right at your soul, and then there are songs that you just relate to so much that they touch every fiber of your being, like Bon Jovi’s “Scars on This Guitar.” The track was released in 2016 as part of their album This House Is Not For Sale.
Bon Jovi, the rock band of the ‘80s who gave us “Runaway,” “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Bad Medicine,” and “It’s My Life,” just to name a few, has been known for their epic guitar solos. That’s why their guitars have become a very important part of their identity. And to their frontman, Jon Bon Jovi, it was everything.
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It was 1975, and 13-year-old Jon Bon Jovi, who was John Bongiovi then, had been relentlessly asking his parents for a guitar. Then came Christmas Day, but to his disappointment, there was none. He didn’t say anything and just cleaned up all the wrapping paper left from opening all of the gifts. Then, as he was doing so, under the couch, he found a Univox Stratocaster.
Three years later, he would sell that same guitar for $100 in hopes of saving enough money for a Fender. Six years after that, his band would release their self-titled debut album. That was a night he would never forget, and so would rock n’ roll. If that hadn’t happened, no one knows if there would ever be Bon Jovi.
Meaning Behind the Song
Written by frontman Jon Bon Jovi along with Billy Falcon and Brett James, “Scars on This Guitar” is a tribute song.
For You
The first verse opens with him drunk on a Friday night after a show, walking down the hallway to his hotel room. He then turns on the lights, takes off his coat, and then lies on his bed. As his body recovers from all the exhaustion, he remembers his guitar.
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He sings, “She’s the place I go when there’s nowhere left to run to / She’s the one I hold when there’s no one to hold on to.” She has been the one thing constant in his life, and she has heard all of the things that poured out of his heart. And their journey together has been marked by every crack, scratch, and scar on his guitar. It was him and his guitar against the world.
Jon Bon Jovi reunited with his first-ever guitar in 2024.
Listen to Bon Jovi’s “Scars on This Guitar” in the video below.
