This classic song was written by Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker in 1955, first recorded by Arnold in 1956, and popularized by Ray Charles in 1962.

Cindy Walker, inspired by Arnold’s concept, quickly by composing the lyrics, which tell the story of unrequited love: a narrator secretly loves someone but never expresses their feelings, allowing the object of affection to be with another. The song is structured in a thirty-two-bar form and is gender-neutral, allowing it to be sung by both men and women.