 " We Belong Together " is a song by American singer Mariah Carey from her tenth studio album , The Emancipation of Mimi ( 2005 ) . The song was released on March 29 , 2005 , through Island Records , as the second single from the album . " We Belong Together " was written by Carey , Jermaine Dupri , Manuel Seal , and Johntá Austin , and produced by the former three . As the song samples lyrics from Bobby Womack 's " If You Think You 're Lonely Now " ( 1981 ) and the Deele 's " Two Occasions " ( 1987 ) , several other songwriters are credited . " 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 . 
