We Belong Together - Music and Structure

Music and Structure

"We Belong Together" is an R&B ballad with strong pop and hip-hop influences. The song is propelled by a programmed Roland TR-808-styled kick and hi-hat, which is prominently utilized in hip hop music. Carey adopted a reserved, rap-flavored singing style, which garnered approval from the critics who admonished her ornate, melismatic singing style. Reviewer Jennifer Vineyard from MTV News commented that Carey's spare and understated singing approach gave the song more power, which would not have been achieved if she had belted. The song also incorporates 1980s retro-soul music by "cleverly" referencing Bobby Womack's "If You Think You're Lonely Now" (1981) and The Deele's "Two Occasions" (1987), with Babyface. In the second verse of "We Belong Together", Carey sings: "Bobby Womack's on the radio / Singing to me, 'If you think you're lonely now'." She then flips across a radio dial: "So I turn the dial, tryin’ to catch a break / And then I hear Babyface / 'I only think of you...'." The line "If you think you're lonely now" is from the song of the same name and "I only think of you" is from the chorus of "Two Occasions." In the remix she also says "I only think of you / On two occasions / That's day and night..." Due to the inclusion of the lyrics from both songs, the songwriters were given co-writing credits on the song. "We Belong Together" follows the common verse-chorus form and is structured into three distinct sections, with each section presenting the protagonist in different emotions. The first section chronicles the break-up of the couple, and a sorrowful tone is established as she laments her former mistakes. In the second section, the narrative switches to the present, and the protagonist becomes increasingly agitated and feels "all out of her element" when she attempts to distract herself by listening to the radio, but fails. "We Belong Together" has no bridge; instead, Carey transitions into the third section by raising the pitch an octave, which emphasizes the sheer frustration and desperation of the protagonist. Metro Times writer Johnny Loftus described the song's production, lyrics and vocals in detail:

It’s straightforward, heartfelt and classy. Mariah pleads with her departed lover – 'When you left I lost a part of me / It’s still so hard to believe' – and the song’s gentle R&B roll is perfectly understated, built from a few piano chords and a slowed-down So So Def rhythm. It has a homebody quality, almost like an autumn song would – you can imagine a split-up couple singing it quietly, separately, as the world goes on around them. She’s on a porch with tea; he’s stuck in traffic when he finds Mariah on the radio. It even cleverly references that feel, with Mariah finding the Bobby Womack and Babyface songs on her radio just too tough to hear. There’s no tired 'I tried to 2-way you” retorts, no trash-technology love affair 'I was at the grocery store and this guy had the same ring tone as you, and I cried.' No, there’s a classic sensibility to the lyrics and sound of 'We Belong Together' that makes for perfect – and perfectly universal – pop/R&B songwriting. In other words, it’s the jam. And there’s probably a happy ending, too: Mariah’s triumphant octave shift finale makes the song’s title an emphatic.

"We Belong Together" is a simple, understated musical arrangement set in C major and composed in 4/4 time. Similarly, within the song, Carey's voice spans from G₃ to the high note of A₅. Carey's vocal range is demonstrated with a greater emphasis in the ending chorus, where the chorus is raised an octave higher, lying from G₄ to A₅. As such, Carey ends with an anticipated coda, completing both the chorus and the song with a potent, belted note of C₅ for approximately four semibreves (around 17 seconds). It follows the common verse-chorus form and is structured into three sections that portray the protagonist in a range of emotions; from doleful and resigned in the first section, to desperate and agitated in the second. In the last section the song climaxes with an octave raise, which not only emphasizes the protagonist's heightened desperation, but her determination to be with her lover.