Don't Speak
| "Don't Speak" | ||||||||||
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Artwork for non-US commercial releases
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| Single by No Doubt | ||||||||||
| from the album Tragic Kingdom | ||||||||||
| B-side |
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| Released | April 15, 1996 | |||||||||
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| Recorded | 1994 | |||||||||
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| Length | 4:23 | |||||||||
| Label | Interscope | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | ||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Matthew Wilder | |||||||||
| No Doubt singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Don't Speak" is a song by the American rock band No Doubt. It was released in 1996 as the third single from the band's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom (1995). Vocalist Gwen Stefani wrote the song with her brother Eric Stefani about her bandmate and ex-boyfriend Tony Kanal shortly after he ended their seven-year relationship.
Despite the song's popularity, "Don't Speak" did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 (as rules of the times required commercial singles for charting and one was not issued for the song), but it did reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay for 16 weeks. The single also reached number one in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, being No Doubt's most successful international single. "Don't Speak" was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 1998 Grammy Awards.
The song was ranked at number 495 on Blender magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born". The song is a playable track in the 2009 music video game Band Hero, and is also included as a downloadable song in 2008's Rock Band 2
The song has been sampled by multiple Hip-Hop artists, including in Rakim's song "Dedicated" and Ice Cube's "War & Peace".
The song was written by Eric Stefani and Gwen Stefani and produced by Matthew Wilder. "Don't Speak" went through several rewrites. A live version that exists from April 1994 shows off a bouncy tune that has the same skeleton as the released version, but not the same urgency. It is composed in the key of F minor. A demo version also appeared on a demo CD, which was presented to Interscope Records prior to the release of the Tragic Kingdom album. Part of the song was performed on VH1 Storytellers on August 10, 2000. The song was written via multiple rewrites about the ending of the relationship between bassist Kanal and lead vocal Gwen Stefani.
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