You Belong to Me is a 1952 pop ballad written by Chilton Price with Pee Wee King and Redd Stewart. It began as a wartime plea called Hurry Home to Me, but King and Stewart reshaped it into a universal tale of separated lovers. The best known early recording is Jo Stafford’s 1952 single with Paul Weston and his Orchestra, released by Columbia Records after being recorded June 24, 1952 in Los Angeles. The song is a traditional pop ballad of about 3 minutes, and Stafford’s version topped the US and UK charts, making her the first woman to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart. It has been widely covered, including a 1962 version by the Duprees and a Patsy Cline rendition the same year. The opening line See the pyramids along the Nile remains iconic and helped cement the tune as a timeless standard.
