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- Best Relationship Advice "We Belong Together" Mariah Carey, 2005
Best Relationship Advice "We Belong Together" Mariah Carey, 2005
by LaDena Kailing Garr, Certified Life Coach since 2011
LaDena Kailing Garr
June 18, 2025
Fun fact, find the answer at the bottom of this email.
This song was written by Mariah Carey, and others, in an all-night songwriting session with Jermaine Dupri. Some of the credited songwriters never worked with Mariah Carey, not ever, so how did they get songwriting credit?
Feel-Good Relationship Advice from the Greatest Love Songs!
When you left I lost a part of me
For those who have lost a great love
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Read time: 5 minutes
Lyrics
I didn't mean it when I said I didn't love you so
I should have held on tight, I never should have let you go
I didn't know nothing I was stupid
I was foolish, I was lying to myself
I couldn't have fathomed I would ever be without your love
Never imagined I'd be sitting here beside myself
'Cause I didn't know you, 'cause I didn't know me
But I thought I knew everything I never felt
The feeling that I'm feeling now that I don't hear your voice
Or have your touch and kiss your lips
'Cause I don't have a choice
Or what I wouldn't give to have you lying by my side
"We Belong Together" is built on a simple piano arrangement with an understated backbeat. The lyrics chronicle a woman's desperation for her former lover to return, according to Wikipedia.
A few hours after the song was written, Mariah Carey shared her thoughts about this song; “I had the chills. I had a great feeling about it when we finished writing the song, and I was flying back from Atlanta at some crazy hour of the morning... But we were listening to it on the plane ride on the way home, and even from the demo version, I really felt something very special”.
Lyrics
Bobby Womack’s on the radio
saying to me “if you think you’re lonely now”
Wait a minute this is too deep
I gotta change the station
When you left I lost a part of me
It’s still so hard to believe
Come back Baby, please
‘Cause we belong together
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.
When something gets pulled to one extreme, you just can’t bring it back to the middle immediately. It has to swing to the opposite side. It has to.
Think about this…
Have you ever lost a love that you couldn’t fathom life without them?
Key Take Aways
Life goes on after a great love loss.
When something gets pulled to one extreme, you just can’t bring it back to the middle immediately. It has to swing to the opposite side. It has to.
Healing and growth takes time.
Fun Fact Trivia:
This song was written by Mariah Carey, and several other songwriters. The song began in an all-night songwriting session with Jermaine Dupri. Some of the credited songwriters never worked with Mariah Carey, not ever, so how did they get songwriting credit on her song?
Answer: Since the song interpolates lyrics from Bobby Womack’s “If you think your’re lonely now” (1981), and the Deele’s “Two Occasions” (1987), the songwriters of those respective songs are credited.
Fun Fact: Something new! Coming soon! Watch for it right here!
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In 2025 I am working, along with the most amazing minds I’ve encountered, to create an online course for those that value romance.
We invest in what we value the most. I help busy, overwhelmed adults in loving relationships, who feel their romantic connection has become routine, go from feeling taken for granted and emotionally distant to experiencing exciting intimacy, deeper connection and romance fulfillment.
This transformation ensures they thrive with support, enduring romantic expression, and enriching their overall life satisfaction.
Love is the greatest adventure!
~LaDena
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