Songfacts®:

• After the cancellation of their 2024 North American arena tour because of low ticket sales and a contentious split with their management, The Black Keys found themselves in a challenging position. Instead of dwelling on the setbacks, they turned to what they knew best: making music. For frontman Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, writing and recording was therapeutic, a way for the duo to process their frustrations and move forward creatively.
  
  The pair hunkered down at Easy Eye Sound, their Nashville studio. Through the sweltering Tennessee summer and into the crisp fall, they wrote and recorded a batch of new songs, including "The Night Before."
• The song is about optimism, renewal, and that uniquely human tendency to dust oneself off after life has hurled a metaphorical shoe at one's head. It was co-written with Daniel Tashian, one of Kacey Musgraves' go-to songwriting partners. According to Auerbach, the collaboration was something of a cosmic slipstream:
  
  "'The Night Before' started with a chord progression that Daniel and I came up with and the rest just fell out," he said. "It was really collaborative and all came together in about 30 minutes."
• This was, surprisingly, the first time the Keys had collaborated with a professional Nashville songwriter, despite having lived in the city for ages. "It's crazy," said Carney. "Daniel was one of the first people I met when I moved to town over a decade ago."
• Directed by Running Bear (Jordan Davis, Chris Young), the black-and-white music video follows two hotel staff members breaking rules and dancing through hallways while exploring the building's hidden spaces. Meanwhile, The Black Keys deliver a live performance in one of the rooms.
• "The Night Before" became the duo's ninth #1 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart. Their first was "Lonely Boy" way back in 2011 when the band was ascendant. It also was The Black Keys' eighth chart-topper on Billboard's Alternative Airplay listing.