1 Thing - Theme and Sound

Theme and Sound

"1 Thing" was produced by Harrison and is built around a sample of The Meters' 1970 version of the theme song from Oh! Calcutta!, "Oh, Calcutta!", written by Samuel Walden. Built around The Meters' funky beat-driven percussion, "1 Thing" finds Amerie lamenting on an aspect of a relationship that keeps her satisfied. Even if other factors are less than positive, there is one thing that keeps her hooked ("It's this one thing that's got me trippin..."). Amerie said that the inspiration for the song came from a conversation she had with Harrison "about relationships and how there's always one thing that keeps you attracted to someone. No matter what they do or how they act, there's that one undeniable thing that keeps you coming back." She told Blender that the "one thing" "could be bringing flowers, or something more ... physical. People think I'm just this good girl, but there are other sides they don't see."

Despite being based on a New Orleans funk sample, the song belies a strong go-go influence. Harrison likened the two based on their heavy use of percussion and chant. Amerie stated, "You don't hear go-go outside of D.C. ... I was like, 'We have to do it in an up-tempo way because when you hear it on the radio in D.C., it's fast.' ... So it's a fresh sound for everybody but people in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area. They know what it is." The song is composed in the key of B major, moving at a tempo of 100 beats per minute in common time. It uses four-measure phrases with a I-III-II-I-VI chord progression. The first four chords are played on the measure's downbeat, and off-beat syncopation is used for the fifth chord.