Pat Benatar – “We Belong” (1984) – 7″ Single

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic

I’ve had this one in the collection for awhile and finally got the urge to write about it. It is from one of my favorite singers, Pat Benatar. The early 80’s saw her on a massive win streak. Everything she touched turn to gold including the lead single to her 1984 album ‘Tropico’ which is “We Belong”. The song did really well and went to #5 on the Billboard charts which tied the success of her massive hit “Love is a Battlefield”. The song was a success all across the world as well and even earning a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She didn’t win as she was up against some other powerhouses such as Linda Rondstadt, Madonna, Tina Turner and Whitney Houston. Dang that is a pretty impressive category right there.

The song was written by Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro (his first cousin is Dave Navarro if you are interested in knowing that fact). The song was inspired by Dan as he was sitting around lamenting on an old flame. He wanted to get the point across that although there are more important than them, they however belong together. My copy of the single is a standard U.S. release so nothing special, but I like it.

A-SIDE:

The song is a ballad and let me tell you the guitar work by Nick Giraldo is incredible on this. There is an acoustic, almost flamenco style guitar riff that explodes during the chorus and mixed with the heavy drum and percussion elements, the chorus is so freaking cool and memorable. Throw in Pat Benatar’s angelic vocals and you are in hook, line and sinker. Her vocals on here are so mature and not the standard rock song we are used to hearing from her. It is a pleasant change of pace. At the end of the song, they added a whole children’s choir that makes the song even more dramatic. One of my favorite Benatar songs and there are a lot. And with 53 million views of the video on the Tube of You, I would say it is still a popular song.

B-SIDE:

The B-Side is also from ‘Tropico’ and is called “Suburban King” and was written by Neil Giraldo and Billy Steinberg. “Suburban King” is not a typical Benatar song either. For ‘Tropico’, Pat and Neil got way more experimental and tried to become real artsy. The song is short at under 2 minutes and is mostly a vocal highlight for Pat’s voice. It does some guitar with an interesting sound and riff and a whole lot of electronic elements thrown in. It is a slow tempo, but not a ballad. The lyrics are strange and not sure what it is really talking about. Not a bad track overall, however, not what you’d expect from Pat either.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you back again real soon.

31 thoughts on “Pat Benatar – “We Belong” (1984) – 7″ Single”

  3. Bleugh. Sorry, this is one of my least favourite Benatar songs, along with “Love is a Battlefield”. I always preferred “Lipstick Lies” of the two studio cuts from Live From Earth.

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    1. I actually had no idea this was Pat Benatar. I’ve never liked this song. “We Belong” obviously doesn’t refer to her placement in the performer category at the Rock Hall! Especially not ahead of Judas Priest, who basically got a participation trophy. It’s also bullshit she and Kate Bush were nominated on the same ticket and Benatar won, and Kate Bush didn’t. I bet if “Running Up That Hill” had become a huge hit again before the voting was over, she would have won for sure. I bet she’s going in next year now.

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          1. Oh for sure. If this was Facebook I would have refrained from commenting in the first place. And I would have been long cancelled for my unorthodox opinions towards popular and unpopular albums.

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  5. This is another nice find. I love her voice. My kids like listening to this song.

    Great! Now, all I can think about is Ricky Bobby. lol

    Have a good day everyone.

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. I remember first hearing this song and seeing the video for the first time while in HS and thinking “Wow, this is Pat Benatar?” Great song, arrangement, chorus and very mature. Thanks for posting.

    Liked by 1 person

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