When You Say Nothing At All by Ronan Keating – Songfacts

Originally released by the country singer Keith Whitley in 1988, it was written by two leading country songwriters, Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. The latter also wrote and previously recorded Kenny Rogers’ US #1 Country hit “

The title came to the songwriters out of thin air, and they built the rest of the song around it. “That was a day where we just went in the office and tried to just stay there until we came up with something,” Overstreet recalled in The Billboard Book Of Number One Country Hits. “It was one of those things where you start messing around with the guitar and humming, and something sparks, you know, ‘When You Say Nothing At All.’ We just sat down and tried to write a song around it.”

“Sometimes actions speak louder than words, as the old saying goes,” Schlitz added, “and we just found another way to say that. Sometimes if you listen carefully enough with your eyes, you can hear a whole lot more than you hear with your ears. Keith did a great job singin’ that song – he truly sang it from the heart.”

This song is about a couple that are so connected, they don’t need words to communicate. Just a look or touch can say it all.Originally released by the country singer Keith Whitley in 1988, it was written by two leading country songwriters, Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. The latter also wrote and previously recorded Kenny Rogers’ US #1 Country hit ” The Gambler .”The title came to the songwriters out of thin air, and they built the rest of the song around it. “That was a day where we just went in the office and tried to just stay there until we came up with something,” Overstreet recalled in. “It was one of those things where you start messing around with the guitar and humming, and something sparks, you know, ‘When You Say Nothing At All.’ We just sat down and tried to write a song around it.””Sometimes actions speak louder than words, as the old saying goes,” Schlitz added, “and we just found another way to say that. Sometimes if you listen carefully enough with your eyes, you can hear a whole lot more than you hear with your ears. Keith did a great job singin’ that song – he truly sang it from the heart.”