Introduction
“Nothing” is a country song co-written and recorded by American artist Dwight Yoakam. It was released as a single on October 14, 1995, and served as the lead single from his sixth studio album, Gone. Issued by Reprise Records, the track runs approximately 3 minutes and 54 seconds. On the charts, “Nothing” reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in the United States and also peaked at No. 20 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart, making it the most successful single taken from the album.
The parent album Gone was released on October 31, 1995, through Reprise Records. Recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood and produced by longtime collaborator Pete Anderson, the album continued Yoakam’s move away from strict neo-traditionalism toward a more eclectic sound that incorporated soul, rock and broader pop influences while still grounded in country and honky-tonk. Gone peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and generated four singles, with “Nothing” performing best in both the U.S. and Canadian country markets.
Songwriting credits for “Nothing” list Dwight Yoakam and Kostas (Kostas Lazarides). This track extends a well-established partnership between the two, following earlier collaborations such as “Nothing’s Changed Here,” “Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose,” and “Ain’t That Lonely Yet.” As on previous projects, production was handled by Pete Anderson, who shaped the overall sound of Yoakam’s 1980s and 1990s recordings and again blended his Bakersfield-inspired guitar approach with a more experimental studio palette on Gone. On the album’s track list, “Nothing” appears as the fifth track.
Lyrically, “Nothing” focuses on the aftermath of a failed relationship and the emotional void left behind. The narrator reflects that he “couldn’t change your heart” or “change your mind” and must live with an empty life now that the relationship has ended. The repeated use of the word “nothing” emphasizes the sense of absence, portraying a situation where efforts to repair the relationship have been exhausted. The lyric fits within Yoakam’s broader catalog of songs dealing with heartbreak and resignation, but here it is framed in unusually sparse and direct terms.
Musically, the song illustrates the stylistic shift noted by critics in discussions of Gone. While it retains recognizable country elements—Yoakam’s twangy vocal delivery, the presence of steel and electric guitars and a mid-tempo rhythm—it also leans toward a more soulful, atmospheric sound compared with his earlier, more strictly honky-tonk work. Contemporary commentary on the album has singled out “Nothing” as an example of Yoakam and Anderson aiming for a smoother, more groove-oriented production that still preserves the emotional clarity of traditional country songwriting.
As a single, “Nothing” marked a change from the chart heights of Yoakam’s early 1990s hits, which had frequently reached the Top 10 or higher. Although it peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard country chart rather than the Top 5, it remained a solid performer and led the single campaign for Gone. Subsequent singles from the album—”Gone (That’ll Be Me),” “Sorry You Asked?” and “Heart of Stone”—charted lower, making “Nothing” the album’s standout in commercial terms. Over time, the song has been included on compilations covering Yoakam’s 1990s output and is often mentioned in overviews of his work with Kostas, illustrating a period in which he balanced commercial expectations with a desire to experiment with sound and arrangement.
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Lyric
I couldn’t change your heart
I couldn’t change your mind
So I just have to learn to live with
This empty life you’ve left behind
You didn’t try to hear
You didn’t try to see
No you just stared right through the teardrops
Like there was nothing left of me
Nothing but sorrow
Nothing but pain
Nothing but memories that whisper your name, yeah
Nothing but sadness
Nothing but fear
Nothing but silence heard around here
Lessons were learned
Promises made that were broken
Tender lies so softly spoken
You didn’t try to hear
You didn’t try to see
You just stared right through the teardrops
Like there was nothing left of me
Nothing but sorrow (nothing but sorrow)
Nothing but pain (nothing)
Nothing but memories that whisper your name
Nothing but sadness (nothing but sadness)
Nothing but fear (nothing)
Nothing but silence heard around here
Heard around here
Nothing but sorrow (nothing but sorrow)
Nothing but pain (nothing)
Nothing but memories that whisper your name
Whisper your name
Nothing but sadness (nothing but sadness)
Nothing but fear (nothing)
Nothing but silence heard around here
Heard around here
I couldn’t change your heart