| "The Night Before" | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:The_Night_Before_sheet_music_cover.jpg) Sheet music cover | |
| Song by the Beatles | |
| from the album Help! | |
| Released | 6 August 1965 |
| Recorded | 17 February 1965 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | |
| Length | 2:33 |
| Label | Parlophone |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
"The Night Before" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 film Help! and soundtrack album of the same name. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Described as a pop rock or rock and roll song, its lyrics reflect on the singer's last night with his lover before being abandoned.
Recorded in February 1965, "The Night Before" was the first Beatles song to feature electric piano, played by John Lennon. Its film sequence was shot the following May, showing the band miming to the track on Salisbury Plain. The Beatles only played the song live once, during their final BBC Radio performance. In contemporary interviews, McCartney said that it was one of his favorite songs from the Help! film and one of the Beatles' best recordings up to that point. Critics have given it mixed reviews, with some praising it while others dismiss it as insignificant. Many fans consider it one of the Beatles' best early songs. George Martin, Herbie Mann, Josie Cotton, and Restless Heart are among the artists who have covered it.