Composition and lyrical interpretation
What did Andrew Unterberger compare the song's chorus to?
We Are Young
"We Are Young" is a power ballad that combines the genres of indie pop, alternative rock, and power pop. The song is written in the key of F major, based almost entirely on the 50s progression (I vi IV V) with the exception of its bridge, and follows a tempo of 116 beats per minute, changing to 92 bpm from the pre chorus to the end. The song has a slow hip hop groove from the first chorus onward, and the song in its entirety is in common time. The instrumentation of the original mix session consists of drums, bass guitar, synth bass, electric guitars, synths, piano, horns and other brass, and a hugh amount of vocal tracks, as well as the rough mix and two reference tracks, by Queen and Kanye West, that are both muted in the final master. In the song, "careful arrangements layer sharp, bright piano melodies with big, booming drums and multiple vocal harmonies." Ruess shifts from "vulnerable verbal tumbling in the song's sonically sparse intro to the grandiose declaration, 'Tonight, we are young / So let's set the world on fire / We can burn brighter than the sun' in the massive chorus." According to "Spin", the song incorporates a "marrying fist-pump stadium rock to the prim indie-pop of Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks," keeping the deliberate beats and soaring melodies but replacing choirboy primness with a percussive whomp." Andrew Unterberger of "Popdust" compared the song's chorus to that of Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield" and Supergrass' "Alright," and noted that nearly every word in the chorus is imbued with maximum passion and importance. Tim Jonze Guardian.co.uk described the chorus as anthemic and compared it to work done by Arcade Fire and stated that the lyrics were "life-affirming and fit for a teen movie soundtrack. "Lead singer Nate Ruess says the lyrics were inspired by one specific night, after "my worst drinking night of all time." Ruess told "Rolling Stone" that he was kicked out of a taxi cab for puking all over it. "The cabbie was demanding all this money, and all I could do was stand on the corner with my head against the wall. It took me another day before I was a functioning adult and could actually write down the verses," he said.