Composition
"It Only Hurts when I'm Breathing" is a ballad that lies within a fine line of country pop, most instrumentation are typical of country music, yet it does not sound distinctively country. The country "Green" version is of three minutes and nineteen seconds in length, and the pop "Red" version is of three minutes and twenty seconds in length. Paul Cognata of The Daily Campus stated, "Twain decides to deeply cross the line into pop music in her song, 'It Only Hurts when I'm Breathing.' Since there isn't any type of country-feel in it, the song sounds like a typical pop ballad that could be found on Kiss 95.7." It is set in common time and has a slow tempo of 76 beats per minute. Written in the key of D♭ major, "It Only Hurts when I'm Breathing" follows the chord progression G–Am7–F9. Twain's vocals span two octaves, from A♭3 to D5. Its lyrics reflect misery and burden.
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