Extreme - More Than Words

More Than Words by Extreme (1990)

"More Than Words" is a ballad written 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). Released in 1990 on the album Extreme II: Pornograffiti, the song marked a departure from the funk metal that had permeated the band's style previous to its release.

The song was described by Bettencourt as a song warning that the phrase "I love you" was becoming meaningless: "People use it so easily and so lightly that they think you can say that and fix everything, or you can say that and everything's OK. Sometimes you have to do more and you have to show it—there's other ways to say 'I love you.'" The song's music video was filmed in black and white. 

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 United Kingdom, where the group 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 four in the United States and number three in Canada.