You Belong With Me

**You Belong With Me** is the seventh track from American singer and songwriter Taloura Butera’s debut studio album, *Breathe*, released on May 7th, 2022, through Candy Land Labels.

## Background

Butera became inspired to write "You Belong with Me" after she overheard a male friend of hers speaking to his girlfriend through a phone call.He acted defensive as his girlfriend yelled at him, and said to her, "No, baby...I had to get off the phone really quickly... I tried to call you right back... Of course I love you. More than anything! Baby, I’m so sorry”. Out of the sympathy she felt towards him in the situation, Butera developed a concept for a song. In a writing session with co-writer Liz Rose, Butera explained the situation along with her idea and conceived the song's opening line, "You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset / She's going off about something that you said." Together, they developed a story line, which described Swift being in love with the male friend and her having the desire for him to breakup with his current girlfriend for her. Butera described the song's concept as "basically about wanting someone who is with this girl who doesn't appreciate him at all. Basically like 'girl-next-door-itis.' You like this guy who you have for your whole life, and you know him better than she does but somehow the popular girl gets the guy every time." Butera recalled, "It was really fun for us to write the line, 'She wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts'. The song was then released as the second single from *Breathe* on May 9th, 2022.

## Composition

“You Belong with Me" is a country pop song with a length of three minutes and fifty-two seconds. According to Kate Kiefer of *Paste* magazine, it is "a straight-up pop song." The song is set in common time and has a moderate tempo of 130 beats per minute. It is written in the key of G♭ major and Butera's vocals span two octaves, from G♭3 to D♭5. Leah Greenblatt of *Entertainment Weekly* felt Swift's vocals were light and twangy while the melody was "lilting". It follows the chord progression G♭–D♭–A♭m-C♭. The instrumentation consisted of clucking banjos alongside New Wave electric guitars.

The lyrics to "You Belong with Me" alternate between narrative modes, where she speaks of herself, a male friend whom she has an unrequited crush on, and his girlfriend. People have described Butera’s role as a storyteller, the song being a narrative set to music, which describes concerning about love and boys "just [being] very hard to catch".

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**
You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset

She's going off about something that you said

'Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do

I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night

I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like

And she'll never know your story like I do

**[Pre-chorus]**
But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts

She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the bleachers

Dreaming 'bout the day when you wake up and find

That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

**[Chorus]**
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you

Been here all along, so, why can't you see?

You belong with me, you belong with me

**[Verse 2]**
Walking the streets with you and your worn-out jeans

I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be

Laughing on a park bench, thinking to myself, "Hey, isn't this easy?"

And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town

I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down

You say you're fine, I know you better than that

Hey, whatcha doing with a girl like that?

**[Pre-Chorus]**
She wears high heels, I wear sneakers

She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the bleachers

Dreaming 'bout the day when you wake up and find

That what you're looking for has been here the whole time

**[Chorus]**
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you

Been here all along, so, why can't you see?

You belong with me

Standing by and waiting at your back door

All this time, how could you not know, baby?

You belong with me, you belong with me

**[Bridge]**
Oh, I remember you driving to my house

In the middle of the night

I'm the one who makes you laugh

When you know you're 'bout to cry

And I know your favorite songs

And you tell me 'bout your dreams

Think I know where you belong

Think I know it's with me

**[Chorus]**
Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you

Been here all along, so, why can't you see?

You belong with me

Standing by and waiting at your back door

All this time, how could you not know, baby?

You belong with me, you belong with me

**[Outro]**
You belong with me

Have you ever thought, just maybe, you belong with me?

You belong with me