As Gaye sings the verses, background vocals (provided by Gaye and Gordon Banks) are heard singing, "heal me, my darlin'," while Gaye sings the lyrics. During the chorus, sounds of a harmonious synthesizer are heard before Gaye reaches a vocal bridge, that is led by Gaye and Gordon Banks providing a rhythm guitar solo. In the album version of the song, Fuqua's whispers are repeated in the middle of the song, in the single version, however, Gaye takes Fuqua's place, singing in part of Fuqua's words adding more lyrics before returning to the verse. Another bridge follows after the second repeat of the chorus. In different versions of the song, Gaye had added extra lyrics to the second bridge as showcased on the song's demo tape and on an alternate version of the song. Gaye eventually cut part of the lyrics off.