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"Don't Speak" was the second single from ska/rock band No Doubt's second album album, Tragic Kingdom. Released in 1996, the single 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 hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. The song also peaked at #1 in the UK and Australia. The single ignited the mid-1990s ska revival, and is No Doubt's most succesful international single, propelling them to superstardom. Not suprisingly, the song is generally considered to be their signature song.

Song information
The song was co-written by Eric Stefani and Gwen Stefani and co-produced by Matthew Wilder. The bitersweet ballad is based on a true story on the turbulent relationship betwen Gwen Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal. After being in a relationship for seven years, Kanal informed Stefani that his feelings about her had changed and that he did not want to be her boyfriend anymore. Not suprisingly, Stefani stumbled into a severe depression. To hope cope her with her emotional pain, she began to write music, and the final version of "Don't Speak" was born. Although the song was originally a more sugary love song, after the events as described above, the song was changed with a darker tone.

Although many feel that "Don't Speak" is the essence of their breakup, it is not the only song on the Tragic Kingdom album to talk about Stefani and Kanal's break-up; "Sunday Morning" and "Spiderwebs" also deal with the subject. Although these songs reflect the pain of the breakup at the time, Stefani has moved on personally with her marriage to Gavin Rossdale. Her feelings on this matter are also reflected in her music especially with her single "Cool", in which she talks about how things are "cool" with Kanal, to the point of where they are still very good friends. Because of this, "Cool" is often seen by critics and fans to be the sequel to "Don't Speak"

There are also notable cover versions of "Don't Speak" by various bands. Dance-pop group Clueless released a dance version of "Don't Speak" as their debut single. The song has also been covered by The Countdown Singers, and Canadian group Deja Vu.

Music video
The music video for "Don't Speak" takes place in a dark building. Stefani wears a blue dress, and there are scenes telling the story of No Doubt's fake break-up. It also depicts three pathetic men, played by bandmates Kanal, Adrian Young, and Tom Dumont, pitting against a singer, played by Stefani. At the beginning of the video (before the music starts), there is a scene of a man picking a rotten apple from a tree. It ends with the man replacing the apple in the tree.

Chart performance
Upon release, the song immediately began to receive extensive airplay, and it became the most widely played song on American radio in 1996. 1. Not suprisingly, the song hit #1 on the Hot 100 Airplay, and maintained that position for 16 weeks, a record at the time. Although the record was broken in 1998 by the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" with 18 weeks at #1, the song remains in 2nd place of songs on the Hot 100 Airplay with the most weeks at #1 (tied with Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" which also has 16 weeks at #1 on this chart.)

For all its airplay though, the song was not allowed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 as no commercial single was released for it (which were required for charting purposes at the time). Not suprisingly, the song was also a hit on No Doubt's main radio format at the time, Modern Rock Tracks where it hit #2. The song also proved to be a crossover smash hitting #1 on Adult Top 40 and even hitting a respectable #6 and #9 on Adult Contemporary and Rhythmic Top 40 respectively. In therms of local countdowns, "Don't Speak" also reached #11 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1996.

Internationally, the song was also very successful. It debuted at #1 in the United Kingdom, maintaining the top position for 4 weeks and becoming a rare million-selling single. Australia was another major music market where the song received widespread airplay, debuting at #1 and maintaining the peak position for 8 weeks. It also debuted at #1 in Canada, maintaining the zenith position for 5 weeks and becoming one of the biggest-selling singles of the year. In Switzerland, "Don't Speak" debuted at #18 before climbing to #1 (for 4 weeks) six weeks later. After falling from #1, it remained in the top 10 for an additional seven weeks.

The CD single had an alternative version of "Don't Speak", an acoustic version of "Hey You", and "Greener Pastures" as the B-Side. A live version of the song appears as the B-side on the "Sunday Morning" CD single.

Album appearances
"Don't Speak" is featured on these No Doubt albums:
 * Tragic Kingdom as track number ten;
 * The Singles 1992-2003 as track number thirteen;
 * Twice on Boom Box:
 * As track number thirteen on disc one (same as The Singles),
 * Track number thirteen on disc four (a live DVD);
 * "Excuse Me Mr." (a very rare No Doubt bootleg) as track number nine.

According to All Music Guide, "Don't Speak" also appears on the following albums:


 * Festivalbar '97
 * Pure Hits '97
 * The Nominees CD for the 1998 Grammy Awards
 * Love Vol. 4