"Do I Have to Say the Words?" is a song by Canadian singer and songwriter Bryan Adams for his sixth studio album, '' Waking Up the Neighbours'' (1991). It was written and produced by Adams and

Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange (born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...

, with Jim Vallance serving as co-writer of the track. It was released in July 1992 as the sixth single from the album. "Do I Have to Say the Words?" is a mid-tempo

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

ballad with guitar riffs and soft synths in its instrumentation, while Adams gives a dramatic vocal delivery. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the track for being a beautiful ballad and Adams for his vocal delivery. Commercially, the song was successful in North America, reaching number two in Canada and number eleven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Elsewhere, it peaked modestly, reaching the top-forty in three other countries. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

and was shot in Turkey and Iceland. The song was also included on some of Adams' compilations.

Composition and reception

"Do I Have to Say the Words?" was written and produced by Bryan Adams and

, with Jim Vallance serving as a co-writer. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...

, it is written in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

with a

rock ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cu ...

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 72 beats per minute in common time. The mid-tempo ballad features guitar riffs and "cushiony" synths as its instrumentation, while Adams delivers a dramatic vocal. In a part of the chorus, he "whines", "Do I have to tell the truth?" Larry Flick of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called it a "charming rock ballad", where Adams "returns to the pensive, romantic tone of his record-breaking hit '

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Written by Adams, Michael Kamen, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the power ballad was the lead single for both the soundtrack album from the 1991 film '' Robi ...

'." Flick noted that the singer "excels at laying agile nstrumentationfor his gravelly, dramatic vocal delivery." David Hiltbrand and Craig Tomashoff of ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'' named it the best of the ballads on the album. James Hunter of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' named it a moodier "eloquent mall ballad," while Jan DeKnock of ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' noted that "he really does shine brightest on hebeautifully bittersweet allad"

Music video

The music video was directed by

and was mainly shot in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

on July 28, 1992. The video marked the first outdoor stadium show in Istanbul history, with over 20,000 concertgoers in

İnönü Stadium İnönü may refer to. People with the surname * İsmet İnönü (1884–1973), Turkish soldier, statesman and the second President of Turkey * Erdal İnönü (1926–2007), Turkish physicist and politician, and the son of İsmet * Mevhibe İnön ...

. Part of the video was filmed in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

with the female character.

Track listings

*US cassette single # "Do I Have to Say the Words?" (edit) – 4:18 # "Cuts Like a Knife" (live) – 5:36 * UK and European 7-inch single # "Do I Have to Say the Words?" (edit) # "Summer of '69" (live) * UK and European CD single # "Do I Have To Say The Words?" # " Summer of '69" (live) # "Kids Wanna Rock" (live) # "

Can't Stop This Thing We Started "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. The song was written by Adams and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and was released as the second single from Adams' sixth studio album, ''Waking Up the Neighbours'' ...

" (live)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990s ballads 1991 songs 1992 singles A&M Records singles Black-and-white music videos Bryan Adams songs Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange Songs written by Bryan Adams Songs written by Jim Vallance Songs written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange