Gwen Stefani wrote “Don’t Speak” with brother and bandmate Eric Stefani. The song details Gwen’s break-up with bandmate Tony Kanal. The two met in high school and dated for seven years.

In an interview with Rolling Stone Stefani said that her breakup with Tony inspired many of the songs on Tragic Kingdom:

I was like, ‘Fuck, I can’t keep writing about the same thing. But I gotta write about what’s in my head, and that’s the only thing on my mind.’"