the themes of "cry" are world issues such as isolation, war, and brotherhood. conceived just days after 9/11, it also suggests if everyone pulls together as one, then they make a change to the world, with jackson singing, "you can change the world/i can't do it by myself". music critic mark brown of "rocky mountain news" felt that jackson cries the lyrics "i can't do it by myself". the song's lyrics and themes are similar to the ones in jackson's 1988 single "man in the mirror" and his 1992 single "heal the world". "cry" is composed in the key of a major and the song's time signature is common time. "cry" has a moderate metronome of eighty four beats per minute. the single is built in the chord progression of a–g/a–a–a/g in the verses and a–a/g–d–a in the chorus. the sheet music indicates the vocal range spans a3 to g5.