Never Too Far/Hero Medley - Composition

Composition

"Never Too Far/Hero" is a mid-tempo ballad, drawing influence from pop and R&B music genres. The song was written and produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Randy Jackson, and was released as the lead single from her second compilation album, Greatest Hits (2001). It incorporates music from several musical instruments, including the piano, guitar and organ. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing, the song is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 62 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C major with Carey's vocal range spanning from the low-note of D♯₃ to the high-note of Ab₅. The song's chorus has a basic chord progression of G_sus2–G–G/F♯–Em₇–G/D–C-G/B–Am₇. In an interview with Fred Bronson, Carey described her original feelings towards the song, prior to its release as a single:

One person could say that 'hero' is a schmaltzy piece of garbage, but another person can write to me a letter and say, 'I've considered committing suicide everyday of my life for the last ten years until I heard that song and I realized after all I can be my own hero.' And that, that's an unexplainable feeling, like I've done something with my life, y'know?... It meant something to someone.

While "Hero" describes the hidden power inside each individual, "Never Too Far" encourages those who are doubtful over their very existence, and how through perseverance, one can see that nothing is ever 'too far away'. Together combined, the single gives over a supportive message, for those who are either looking for meaning in life, or just doubting their own worth and ability. During a show on Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour, she described the meaning "Hero" had to her and her fans:

"I wrote a song a while back even before "One Sweet Day" and it was not my favorite song in the world, but I wrote it. Someone asked me to write a song and they told me the story, and you know it was kind of a moving concept or whatever. And I did it, and I was like you know it’s not necessarily what I like per se, but after doing the song over and over again and having people coming up to and saying, thank you for writing ‘Hero’ because it saved my life or it saved my father’s life or my brothers or sisters life, or something of that nature, I said I always have to sing that song when I’m performing because if I don’t, you never know who I’m leaving out and you know what, in times of my life I’ve had to turn to that song lyrically and flip it onto my own life and sing it to myself. So its from the ‘Music Box’ album, and it’s called ‘Hero', this is for you."