When You Say Nothing at All" is a 

country song written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz. 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 was 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 United Kingdom in 1999.

Origin

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. "As we tried to find
another way to say nothing, we came up with the song," Overstreet later told author Ace Collins. They
thought the song was OK, but nothing special. When Keith Whitley 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' "On the Other Hand." Whitley did not plan to let "When You Say Nothing at
All" meet the same fate.

Ronan and When You Say Nothing at All: 1999–2000

In 1999, while still a member of Boyzone, Keating recorded a version of "When You Say Nothing at All" for
the motion picture Notting Hill. The single peaked at number one in the UK charts, leading to a successful
solo career.[12] Keating released his debut solo album, titled Ronan, in 2000, which peaked at number one in
the UK Albums Chart. The album was given several negative reviews, although it sold over 750,000 copies
and became one of the top selling albums of the year in the United Kingdom. It debuted at number one on
the UK Albums Chart, and has been certified four-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for
sales of 1.2 million copies. In the singer's native Ireland, the album debuted at number two. The album also
became a commercial success in other European countries, where it charted within the top ten of eight
countries. In 2001, Ronan was certified two-times platinum by the International Federation of the
Phonographic Industry for shipments of two million copies inside Europe.

The album produced four UK and Irish top-ten singles: "When You Say Nothing at All" (originally recorded
for the soundtrack of the 1999 film Notting Hill), "Life Is a Rollercoaster", "The Way You Make Me Feel",
and "Lovin' Each Day", the latter of which was featured on the re-release edition of the album, and later on
Keating's second album, Destination(2002).Also the song "Lovin each day" is from a movie "Summer catch".

"When You Say Nothing At All" Try as I may, I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing.

It's amazing how you [Chorus:]

Can speak right to my heart. The smile on your face
Without saying a word Lets me know that you need me.
You can light up the dark. There's a truth in your eyes
 Saying you'll never leave me.
[Album version:] The touch of your hand says
you'll catch me wherever I fall.
[Live version:] The touch of your hand says you'll
catch me whenever I fall.
You say it best when you say nothing at all.
All day long I can hear
People talking out loud (oooh).
But when you hold me near (you hold me near)
You drown out the crowd (the crowd, the crowd).
Try as they may, they can never define
What's been said between your heart and mine.
[Chorus:]
The smile on your face
Lets me know that you need me.
There's a truth in your eyes
Saying you'll never leave me.
[Album version:] The touch of your hand says
you'll catch me wherever I fall.
[Live version:] The touch of your hand says
you'll catch me whenever I fall.
[Album version:] You say it best (you say it best)
when you say nothing at all.
[Live version:] 'Cause you say it best (you say it
best) when you say nothing at all.
[Chorus:]
The smile on your face
Lets me know that you need me.
There's a truth in your eyes
Saying you'll never leave me.
[Album version:] The touch of your hand says
you'll catch me wherever I fall.
[Live version:] The touch of your hand says you'll
catch me whenever I fall.
[Album version:] You say it best (you say it best)
when you say nothing at all.
[Live version:] 'Cause you say it best (you say it
best) when you say nothing at all.
(You say it best when you say nothing at all.
You say it best when you say nothing at all.)
That smile on your face,
[Album version:] The truth in your eyes,
[Live version:] The look in your eyes,
The touch of your hand
Lets me know that you need me.
(You say it best when you say nothing at all.
You say it best when you say nothing at all.)
[Live version additional ending:]
The smile on your face,
The look in your eyes,
The touch of your hand
Lets me know that you need me.