More Than
" More Than Words " is a ballad written by and originally performed by the rock band Extreme. It is built around acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and the vocals of Gary Cherone (with harmony vocals from Bettencourt), it was released in 1990 on the album Extreme II: Pornograffiti . The song was a departure from the funk metal that had permeated the band's style previous to its release.
Song meaning
The song itself asks the person to whom it is addressed to show love through "more than words."
The video for "More Than Words" was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic for his original song, "You Don't Love Me Anymore." Also Amateur Transplants wrote a comedic song to the same tune as "More Than Words" entitled "Northern Birds" which may be found on their 2006 album "We Are So Bad". The video was also parodied by Jason Segel and the cast of How I Met Your Mother in an online tie-in music video for the episode "The Sexless Innkeeper".
Chart performances
On March 23, 1991, "More Than Words" entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 81 and soon after reached number one. It also reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, where the group had had success before its American breakthrough. Though they had made a few European charts before, this brought the band to their first mainstream success in the United States. Extreme followed "More Than Words" with another power ballad, "Hole Hearted," which was slightly faster paced than "More Than Words", but nevertheless topped at number 4 in the United States and number 3 in Canada.
Cover versions
Cover versions include:
- BBMak in 1999-2000, on their first debut album, released in Asia in 1999, and as a b-side in 1999 for the UK "Back Here" single.
- Westlife in 1999, on their first album, Westlife .
- David Cassidy in 2003 for the album A Touch of Blue .
- Naturally 7 in 2003 a cappella for the album What is It? .
- Owen in 2004, as a Japanese bonus track on his album I Do Perceive .
- Frankie J in 2005, as the third single from his album The One .
- Aloha Sex Juice performed in Hawaiian in the 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall .
- "The Gang" from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia sang the last verse in a capella while taking shots in their South Philly bar in the season two episode, "The Gang Goes Jihad"
- Ruben Studdard covered the song on his 2009 album, Love Is.
- Owen covered the song on "The Seaside EP" released in July 2009.
- Mike Myers performs the song along with Manu Narayan in the film The Love Guru, in a version featuring a sitar.
- Amateur Transplants recorded a parody of the song, entitled Northern Birds.
Live cover performances
- Tony Lucca and JC Chasez in 1991, performed the song on the Mickey Mouse Club.
- Walters & Kazha performed it in 2005 as a live performance.
- Serbian singer and participant of reality/talent show Operacija trijumf, Vukašin Brajić, has sung this song twice at the show's gala evenings. The performances are considered to be some of his best.
- Mike Kinsella of Owen has performed covers of the song live, with versions appearing on the Japanese import of I do perceive and, more notably, on The Seaside EP in 2009.
Track listings
- "More Than Words" (remix) — 5:33
- "Kid Ego" — 4:04
- "Nice Place to Visit" — 3:16
- "More Than Words" — 3:43
- "Nice Place to Visit" — 3:16
Certifications
Charts
References
- ^ Canada certifications cria.ca (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved September 11, 2008)
- ^ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ a b c d e f "More Than Words", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ Canadian Singles Chart (Retrieved September 28, 2008
- ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ a b c Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ 1991 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved August 29, 2008)
- ^ 1991 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved August 29, 2008)