Songfacts®:

• This is the upbeat leadoff track from The First Two Pages Of Frankenstein. The National created the album amid a difficult time for lead singer Matt Berninger, who was struggling with writer's block. "Even though we'd always been anxious whenever we were working on a record, this was the first time it ever felt like maybe things really had come to an end," said Berninger.
  
  The band overcame this obstacle by approaching their music from a different perspective, leading to a new era for The National.
  
  "Tropic Morning News," which is uncharacteristically upbeat for the indie group, served as a turning point in the album's creation process. Keyboardist Aaron Dessner described the song as "Dylan-esque" in its lyrics and a lot of fun to play, adding, "everything suddenly felt like it was coming alive again."
• Matt Berninger and his wife Carin Besser wrote the lyrics. The title is a term the couple use to describe the habit of obsessively scrolling through negative news. The song looks at how constantly consuming negative news can lead to isolation and sadness, making it difficult to form meaningful human connections.
  
  "The idea of referring to the darkness of the news in such a light way unlocked something in me," Matt Berninger. "It became a song about having a hard time expressing yourself and trying to connect with someone when the noise of the world is drowning out any potential for conversation."
• This was one of three new songs The National debuted at their tour-opening show in Pamplona, Spain on May 28, 2022. They titled it back then "Tropic Morning News (Haversham)."
• "Tropic Morning News," climbed to #1 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart dated March 18, 2023. It was The National's second leader on the tally, following "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness," which reigned for seven weeks in 2017.