The Roof

Album: Butterfly (1997)
Charted: 96
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song finds Mariah Carey reminiscing about a sexy rooftop encounter during a rainy night. Released as a single in Europe, it fared poorly, peaking at #96 in the UK and #63 in The Netherlands.
  • Mariah Carey co-produced the song with Poke & Tone and Cory Rooney. The track is built around a sample from Mobb Deep's "Shook Ones (Part II)." Carey's use of the 1995 hip-hop track was inspired by her hearing it played on the radio during an upstate New York drive.
  • Mariah Carey started an affair with New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter while still married to music mogul Tommy Mottola. This song was inspired by their first kiss on a rain-drenched rooftop.

    Carey recounted in her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, they didn't get fully physical until after she divorced her husband. "Neither of us had wanted to cheapen our romance by cheating on my marriage," she wrote. "It would've been justified - they were such seductive situations, and my miserable marriage was in ruins at best - but it wouldn't have been right."
  • The singer also disclosed in The Meaning of Mariah Carey that another Butterfly song, "My All," is about "risking her life to have a night with Jeter in Puerto Rico."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

Mac Powell of Third Day

Mac Powell of Third DaySongwriter Interviews

The Third Day frontman talks about some of the classic songs he wrote with the band, and what changed for his solo country album.

Jackie DeShannon - "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"

Jackie DeShannon - "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"They're Playing My Song

It wasn't her biggest hit as a songwriter (that would be "Bette Davis Eyes"), but "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" had a family connection for Jackie.

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Rush: Album by Album - A Conversation With Martin Popoff

Rush: Album by Album - A Conversation With Martin PopoffSong Writing

A talk with Martin Popoff about his latest book on Rush and how he assessed the thousands of albums he reviewed.