When You Say Nothing At All is a sweet sentimental song I heard the other day. Your smile. The truth in your eyes. Your touch. Almost made me want to cry. Well, maybe. Like when I was young and the hormones were raging, romance was blooming, and all was right with the world. No words needed. Sigh.
Fast forward. My spouse is almost 84. I’m 77. We’re way beyond romantic, gaze-in-your-eyes crap. Depending on the day, I may want him say nothing at all. Like, shut up and leave me alone nothing. Or I may want him to say something – something brilliant.
These days, however, our conversations approach near lunacy. “When are we going to the theatre?” he asks. “I just told you this morning it’s tonight.” “No, you didn’t.” “Yes dear, I did.” “Did not.” “Did too.” “Did not.” “Did too.” We are transported back to third grade recess. Na-na-na-na-nah. Perhaps I should say nothing at all.
I mean really, he either doesn’t hear me, doesn’t want to hear me, doesn’t remember hearing me, or has completely gone over the edge. Worse, he will say, “Remember I told you I invited Sam for dinner tonight?” “What? Are you kidding me, you never mentioned it.” He says, “Yes, I did. I think you’re losing your memory.” “Really? Well, let me remind you that I am 6 ½ years younger than you and have way more memory left.” He says, “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you?” “Well, then get hearing aids. I have mine on.” He shouts “Well, they aren’t working very well.” “Are too.” “Are not.” “Are too.” “Are not.” Nah-na-na-na-nah.
And so it goes. And trust me, even if I used sign language, I guarantee something would be lost in the translation. He’d probably say, “Something’s wrong with your fingers, and stop pointing at me.” You know, to maintain our sanity and our marriage, we probably both should just say nothing at all.
Lyrics
It’s amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don’t say a thing
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
All day long I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd
Old Mr. Webster could never define
What’s being said between your heart and mine
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all
The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all