"Don't Speak" is a song by American rock band No Doubt, featured on their third studio album, Tragic Kingdom (1995). Released in Europe in November 1996 by Interscope Records, the song was initially written as a love song by lead singer Gwen Stefani and her brother, former band member Eric Stefani. However, after several revisions, Gwen reworked the lyrics into a breakup song, reflecting the end of her seven-year relationship with bandmate Tony Kanal.
"Don't Speak" topped the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for 16 weeks, but did not appear on the Billboard Hot 100, which at the time excluded songs that were not issued in the US as a physical single. Outside the United States, the song topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, becoming 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 40th Grammy Awards.
"Don't Speak" 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 video games Band Hero (2009), Rock Band 2 (2008), and Guitar Hero III (2007). The song has been sampled by multiple hip hop artists, including in Rakim's song "Dedicated" and Ice Cube's "War & Peace".
Background and composition
"Don't Speak" is an alternative rock power ballad written by lead singer Gwen Stefani and her brother Eric Stefani, and produced by Matthew Wilder. It was originally a love song, but Stefani rewrote the lyrics almost completely after her breakup with the band's bass player Tony Kanal. According to her, "It used to be more upbeat, more of a Seventies rock-type thing. [When] Tony and I broke up... it turned into a sad song." The opening chords are reminiscent of the intro to the 1979 pop hit "Breakfast in America" by the British rock band Supertramp. A live version that exists from April 1994 shows off a bouncy tune that has the same base as the released version, but not the same urgency. The band performed part of the original song on VH1 Storytellers on August 10, 2000.
The band's lead guitarist Tom Dumont said about the song's composition: