Being a romantic at heart, I wanted to bring a topic to the table that would touch the soft strings. Hence I chose my favorite song, you say it the best when you say nothing at all. This famous song has a beautiful history of placing not one but three singers into stardom and that too in different times. It is among the best-known hit songs for three different performers: Keith Whitley, who took it to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart on December 24, 1988; Alison Krauss, whose version became her first solo top-10 country hit in 1995; and Irish pop singer Ronan Keating, whose version was his first solo single and a chart-topper in the UK in 1999.
I know that this information has generated some curiosity in your mind; hence I would like to share a brief history of its creation and evolution.
This famous love song is a country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. Overstreet and Schlitz came up with "When You Say Nothing at All" at the end of an otherwise unproductive day. Strumming a guitar, trying to write their next song, they were coming up empty. In Overstreet’s own words, "As we tried to find another way to say nothing, we came up with the song”. They thought the song was OK, but nothing special. When Keith Whitley (the then famous country singer and producer for RCA records) heard it, he loved it, and was not going to let it get away. Earlier, he had recorded another Overstreet-Schlitz composition that became a No. 1 hit for another artist - Randy Travis' titled "On the Other Hand." Whitley did not plan to let "When You Say Nothing at All" meet the same fate.
RCA released the song in the album Don't Close Your Eyes in 1988 which opened at 61 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart but gradually hit the top and stayed there for weeks.
Sadly in 1989, Keith died of alcohol poisoning.
Alison Krauss recorded "When You Say Nothing at All" with her group, Union Station, in 1994 for a tribute album to Whitley. She was already a veteran bluegrass fiddler but her group had failed to place anything on the charts till then. The magic of the song drove it to success again and reached the 2nd place on Hot Country Singles Chart. Krauss' recording won the 1995 CMA award for "Single of the Year".
Ronan Keating recorded it in 1999 for the soundtrack of the film Notting Hill. It was Keating's first solo single outside the confines of popular Irish group Boyzone. Keating's version of "When You Say Nothing at All" was released as a single in the third quarter of 1999 and reached number one on the UK chart. It also reached the top position in Ireland. In the UK, the single was certified gold.
All the three versions have been sung with so much of passion that will take you to a different world altogether and you could feel the calmness and the love around. Personally Alison Krauss’s version is my favorite because of the golden voice she has which adds more charm to the composition but it was Whitley who sang the song from his heart. You can feel your pulse and your mind floating when you listen to him.
So what’s it that makes this one so famous, so touching. It just emphasizes the simplest thing on the earth. Love, care and the feeling that “I’ll be there for you no matter what”. No living being can survive in this world without love. And just like smile, there is no language needed to express this one too. I would like to cite a few examples from our day to day life where great things are conveyed without uttering a syllable or making a phonetic sound.
First of all lets take the obvious example about which the song states. The chemistry between lovers. One fine day, you meet someone who you have been waiting for your whole life. In spite of the pleasures you are in, the company you have got and the love and affection you have received from your nearest and dearest ones, suddenly seem to be less important. Why? Because this person you have been waiting for, will care for you without a condition. He will never ask for an explanation and will provide you an invisible but the strongest sense of security. There will be many things told and heard without the exchange of a single word.
I have heard many of my friends saying, both boys and girls, that their dream date or the most beautiful moment would be taking a stroll on the beach with their beloved, hand in hand, with no conversation being taking place. It’s because the touch, the presence is enough to last a life long and making it worth lived.
Lets take an example of friends. A friend is said to be a true one if he comes when you need him the most. And when a true friend enters in, suddenly all issues seem to disappear. No matter what the depth of danger be that you are in, you know that he will take you out. At least he will never let you fall and get lost. At the time of need, he will never ask you whether you were right or wrong, he will just let you his shoulder to rest your head and cry your heart out and he will understand without you explaining him anything.
One of the best examples that everyone will agree of is the purest relation that exists. The relation between a mother and her child. Try remembering how countless times your mom understood you just by looking at your eyes. Your needs, desires, mistakes, pain and happiness, all were understood and handled, cured or reciprocated without letting you convey or explain them explicitly.
It is sometimes really difficult for us to ease our heart and lift the heavy load that crushes us from within but we are not in a position to do that because we don’t have the courage or will or some resource. At that time we aspire for someone who would just understand us, relieve us from the burden and make us free. He should support us selflessly and here all the beautiful relations of our life come into picture.
I’ll take the example of an ideal relationship between a manager and his sub or a lead and his follower or a teacher and his disciple where the superior identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the junior. He lets him reach great heights by nurturing and encouraging his talents and consoling him when he feels low. I have come across the biographies and auto biographies of great leaders and managers and found that apart from ambition and passion, it was understanding, kindness and simplicity that made them achieve their feat. A manager is sure to get respect and productivity from his resources, if he could understand their needs. A smile of appreciation when you have done something nice, a look of sympathy when you are facing a personal problem, a nod of agreement when you have made a point or a grant of a much required break is what all you expect. That small gesture will help you drive to your limits and produce the best out of you.
All in all, people might have discovered thousands of languages for the ease of communication but the greatest of conversations are held non-verbally. Love, smile and care are the best mediums to win on anyone and everyone. So guys stop talking and start expressing. Go and listen to that song once.
I know that this information has generated some curiosity in your mind; hence I would like to share a brief history of its creation and evolution.
This famous love song is a country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. Overstreet and Schlitz came up with "When You Say Nothing at All" at the end of an otherwise unproductive day. Strumming a guitar, trying to write their next song, they were coming up empty. In Overstreet’s own words, "As we tried to find another way to say nothing, we came up with the song”. They thought the song was OK, but nothing special. When Keith Whitley (the then famous country singer and producer for RCA records) heard it, he loved it, and was not going to let it get away. Earlier, he had recorded another Overstreet-Schlitz composition that became a No. 1 hit for another artist - Randy Travis' titled "On the Other Hand." Whitley did not plan to let "When You Say Nothing at All" meet the same fate.
RCA released the song in the album Don't Close Your Eyes in 1988 which opened at 61 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart but gradually hit the top and stayed there for weeks.
Sadly in 1989, Keith died of alcohol poisoning.
Alison Krauss recorded "When You Say Nothing at All" with her group, Union Station, in 1994 for a tribute album to Whitley. She was already a veteran bluegrass fiddler but her group had failed to place anything on the charts till then. The magic of the song drove it to success again and reached the 2nd place on Hot Country Singles Chart. Krauss' recording won the 1995 CMA award for "Single of the Year".
Ronan Keating recorded it in 1999 for the soundtrack of the film Notting Hill. It was Keating's first solo single outside the confines of popular Irish group Boyzone. Keating's version of "When You Say Nothing at All" was released as a single in the third quarter of 1999 and reached number one on the UK chart. It also reached the top position in Ireland. In the UK, the single was certified gold.
All the three versions have been sung with so much of passion that will take you to a different world altogether and you could feel the calmness and the love around. Personally Alison Krauss’s version is my favorite because of the golden voice she has which adds more charm to the composition but it was Whitley who sang the song from his heart. You can feel your pulse and your mind floating when you listen to him.
So what’s it that makes this one so famous, so touching. It just emphasizes the simplest thing on the earth. Love, care and the feeling that “I’ll be there for you no matter what”. No living being can survive in this world without love. And just like smile, there is no language needed to express this one too. I would like to cite a few examples from our day to day life where great things are conveyed without uttering a syllable or making a phonetic sound.
First of all lets take the obvious example about which the song states. The chemistry between lovers. One fine day, you meet someone who you have been waiting for your whole life. In spite of the pleasures you are in, the company you have got and the love and affection you have received from your nearest and dearest ones, suddenly seem to be less important. Why? Because this person you have been waiting for, will care for you without a condition. He will never ask for an explanation and will provide you an invisible but the strongest sense of security. There will be many things told and heard without the exchange of a single word.
I have heard many of my friends saying, both boys and girls, that their dream date or the most beautiful moment would be taking a stroll on the beach with their beloved, hand in hand, with no conversation being taking place. It’s because the touch, the presence is enough to last a life long and making it worth lived.
Lets take an example of friends. A friend is said to be a true one if he comes when you need him the most. And when a true friend enters in, suddenly all issues seem to disappear. No matter what the depth of danger be that you are in, you know that he will take you out. At least he will never let you fall and get lost. At the time of need, he will never ask you whether you were right or wrong, he will just let you his shoulder to rest your head and cry your heart out and he will understand without you explaining him anything.
One of the best examples that everyone will agree of is the purest relation that exists. The relation between a mother and her child. Try remembering how countless times your mom understood you just by looking at your eyes. Your needs, desires, mistakes, pain and happiness, all were understood and handled, cured or reciprocated without letting you convey or explain them explicitly.
It is sometimes really difficult for us to ease our heart and lift the heavy load that crushes us from within but we are not in a position to do that because we don’t have the courage or will or some resource. At that time we aspire for someone who would just understand us, relieve us from the burden and make us free. He should support us selflessly and here all the beautiful relations of our life come into picture.
I’ll take the example of an ideal relationship between a manager and his sub or a lead and his follower or a teacher and his disciple where the superior identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the junior. He lets him reach great heights by nurturing and encouraging his talents and consoling him when he feels low. I have come across the biographies and auto biographies of great leaders and managers and found that apart from ambition and passion, it was understanding, kindness and simplicity that made them achieve their feat. A manager is sure to get respect and productivity from his resources, if he could understand their needs. A smile of appreciation when you have done something nice, a look of sympathy when you are facing a personal problem, a nod of agreement when you have made a point or a grant of a much required break is what all you expect. That small gesture will help you drive to your limits and produce the best out of you.
All in all, people might have discovered thousands of languages for the ease of communication but the greatest of conversations are held non-verbally. Love, smile and care are the best mediums to win on anyone and everyone. So guys stop talking and start expressing. Go and listen to that song once.
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