 "Here We Go Again" is an uptempo power pop song, with guitar lines and pop hooks. Critics made comparisons with works by Kelly Clarkson, particularly the song "Since U Been Gone". According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing, "Here We Go Again" is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderately fast tempo of 144 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of F major and Lovato's vocal range spans from the low-note of C3 to the high-note of F5. It has a basic sequence of F – Dm – Dm – Gm / B ♭ – F as its chord progression. The song's lyrics chronicle the protagonist's on-off relationship with an indecisive boy as she sings that "Something about you is so addictive". Lovato explained: "So it's about, basically, being in a relationship where you break-up and you make-up, and you break-up and it's like' Here we go again, we just keep doing this over and over '."
