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Do I Have to Say the Words?

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"Do I Have to Say the Words?"
Single cover
Single by Bryan Adams
from the album Waking Up the Neighbours
ReleasedJuly 1992
GenrePop rock
Length
  • 6:11 (album version)
  • 4:15 (single/video version)
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Bryan Adams
  • Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Bryan Adams singles chronology
"All I Want Is You"
(1991) 		"Do I Have to Say the Words?"
(1992) 		"Touch the Hand"
(1992)

"Do I Have to Say the Words?" is a song by Canadian singer and songwriter Bryan Adams from his sixth studio album, Waking Up the Neighbours (1991). It was written and produced by Adams and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, with Jim Vallance serving as its co-writer. 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 ballad with guitar riffs and soft synths in its instrumentation, while Adams gives a dramatic vocal delivery.

"Do I Have to Say the Words?" received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised it for being a beautiful ballad and Adams for his vocal delivery. Commercially, it 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. "Do I Have to Say the Words?" was also included on some of Adams' compilations.

Composition and reception

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"Do I Have to Say the Words?" was written and produced by Bryan Adams and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, with Jim Vallance serving as a co-writer. The track began life as a different Adams/Vallance composition called "Rescue Me", an unreleased version of which was recorded with producer Steve Lillywhite. "Rescue Me" was a mid-tempo song that Jim Vallance has described as "U2 inspired". As part of the recording sessions for Waking Up the Neighbours, Mutt Lange radically altered the song, switching the chorus to become the verse, slowing the tempo to create a rock ballad and adding a new chorus, to create the new track "Do I Have to Say the Words?".[1] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, it is written in the key of G major with a rock ballad tempo of 72 beats per minute in common time.[2] The mid-tempo ballad features guitar riffs and "cushiony" synths as its instrumentation, while Adams delivers a dramatic vocal.[3] In a part of the chorus, he "whines", "Do I have to tell the truth?"[4]

Larry Flick of Billboard 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'." Flick noted that the singer "excels at laying agile [instrumentation] for his gravelly, dramatic vocal delivery."[3] David Hiltbrand and Craig Tomashoff of People named it the best of the ballads on the album.[5] James Hunter of Rolling Stone named it a moodier "eloquent mall ballad,"[6] while Jan DeKnock of Chicago Tribune noted that "he really does shine brightest on [the] beautifully bittersweet [ballad]."[7]

Music video

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The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Anton Corbijn and was mainly shot in Istanbul, Turkey on July 28, 1992. The video marked the first outdoor stadium show in Istanbul history, with over 20,000 concertgoers in İnönü Stadium. Part of the video was filmed in Iceland with the female character.

Track listings

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Charts

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Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States July 1991 Cassette A&M
United Kingdom September 14, 1992
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [27]
Japan December 21, 1992 Mini-CD [28]

References

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  1. ^ "Bryan Adams - do I Have to Say the Words?".
  2. ^ "Bryan Adams – "Do I Have to Say the Words?" - Digital Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Group. August 30, 2002. MN0019431. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Flick, Larry (July 25, 1992). "Single Reviews". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 30. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 66. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  4. ^ Arnold, Gina (September 27, 1991). "Waking Up the Neighbours | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  5. ^ Hiltbrand, David; Tomashoff, Craig (October 21, 1991). "Picks and Pans Review: Waking Up the Neighbours". People. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  6. ^ Hunter, James (October 17, 1991). "Waking Up the Neighbours : Bryan Adams Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 29, 2007. Retrieved July 6, 2016.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ DeKnock, Jan (October 10, 1991). "Bryan Adams Waking Up the Neighbours (A&M)". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  8. ^ Do I Have to Say the Words? (US cassette single cassette notes). Bryan Adams. A&M Records. 1991. 75021 1611 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Do I Have to Say the Words? (UK & European 7-inch single vinyl disc). Bryan Adams. A&M Records. 1992. AM0068, 580 068-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Do I Have to Say the Words? (UK & European CD single liner notes). Bryan Adams. A&M Records. 1992. AMCD 0068, 580 068-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  12. ^ "Bryan Adams – Do I Have to Say the Words?" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  13. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1949." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1889." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  15. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 41. October 10, 1992. p. 39. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  16. ^ "Bryan Adams – Do I Have to Say the Words?" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  17. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 47, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  18. ^ "Bryan Adams – Do I Have to Say the Words?" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  20. ^ "Bryan Adams Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  21. ^ "Bryan Adams Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  22. ^ "Bryan Adams Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  23. ^ "The RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1992" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 56, no. 25. December 19, 1992. p. 8. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  24. ^ "The RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary tracks of 1992". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  25. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1992". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  26. ^ "1992 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 52. December 26, 1992. p. YE-38. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  27. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. September 12, 1992. p. 19.
  28. ^ "ドゥ・アイ・ハフ・トゥ・セイ・ザ・ワーズ | ブライアン・アダムス" [Do I Have to Say the Words | Bryan Adams] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
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