We Owned the Night

"We Owned the Night" is a song recorded by American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released in August 2011 as the second single from their album Own the Night. The song was co-written by two of the trio's three members (Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood) along with Dallas Davidson.[1]

"We Owned the Night"
Single by Lady Antebellum
from the album Own the Night
ReleasedAugust 15, 2011
Recorded2011
GenreCountry
Length3:17
LabelCapitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Lady Antebellum singles chronology
"Just a Kiss"
(2011)		 "We Owned the Night"
(2011)		 "Dancin' Away with My Heart"
(2011)

Background

Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood wrote the song with Dallas Davidson. The title started during a conversation that Kelley had with his and Davidson's wives at a bar, telling them that they should "own the night" and stay longer at the bar. After hearing Lady Antebellum perform another uptempo song with a mandolin, Davidson suggested that Haywood and Kelley should "capture that same energy, and write a big hit song on the mandolin." Haywood then began playing the mandolin. Davidson said that he wanted the song to "dive into a deeper lyric, take it to a place a little more serious[…]but keep it light and keep it fun".[2]

In the song, a man recalls a brief but memorable romantic encounter with a woman who he has not seen since. The song is in the key of D-flat major[2] with an approximate tempo of 96 beats per minute.[3] The song consists of four verses plus a bridge in between verses three and four. Its main chord pattern for each verse is D♭-G♭-E♭m-D♭, with all but the first verse ending in Kelley singing "yeah, we owned the night" over the pattern B♭m-G♭-D♭. In the bridge, the chord pattern is E♭m-G♭ twice, followed by another E♭ minor chord before returning to a final verse which uses the same pattern as verses two and three. The title phrase is then repeated one last time.[2] All guitars in the song are tuned to E-flat tuning.[3]

Critical reception

Robbie Daw of Idolator commented that "once again, the country act serves up a pop-crossover jam that should appeal to a variety of listeners, and will no doubt find a home on an array of radio format playlists."[4] Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song a four and a half stars rating out of five. He explained "‘We Owned the Night’ is rootsy, something that couldn’t be said about any of the group’s previous singles. This being their third album, it was wise to take a chance sonically to avoid fan fatigue. The trio still manages to hang on to the lyrical suspense that makes their music so captivating." He concluded saying "This song is like Lady A with no makeup on, in beat up blue jeans and their collective hair pulled back in a ponytail. It’s a new style that’s still familiar, but sexy in its own way."[5]

The song won the British Country Music Association (BCMA) award for International Song of the Year in 2012.

Music video

The music video for "We Owned the Night" shows two couples on a date. At the end the couples end up at a gathering, everyone is dancing together, and there is a fireworks display at the end. Everyone is in a circle with Lady Antebellum performing in the middle. It was directed by Shaun Silva and shot in Nashville.

Chart performance
Chart (2011–12) Peak
position
scope="row"Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6] 29
scope="row"Canada Country (Billboard)[7] 1
scope="row"US Billboard Hot 100[8] 31
scope="row"US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (2011) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 56
Chart (2012) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[11] 61

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region Date Format Label
United States August 12, 2011 Digital download[13] Capitol Records
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References
  1. Conaway, Alanna (August 2011). "Lady Antebellum, 'We Owned the Night' – Lyrics Uncovered". Taste of Country. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  2. Horner, Marianne (December 19, 2011). "Behind the Song: Unbridled Joy". Country Weekly. 18 (51): 16–17. ISSN 1074-3235.
  3. "We Owned the Night sheet music". MusicNotes.com. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
  4. Daw, Robbie (August 17, 2011). "Lady Antebellum "We Owned The Night" Single Released". Idolator. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  5. Dukes, Billy (August 15, 2011). "Lady Antebellum "We Owned The Night" Single Released". Taste of Country. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  6. "Lady Antebellum Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  7. "Lady Antebellum Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  8. "Lady Antebellum Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  9. "Lady Antebellum Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. "Best of 2011: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  11. "Best of 2012: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
  12. "American single certifications – Lady Antebellum – We Owned The Night". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 2, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  13. We Owned the Night – Single by Lady Antebellum iTunes
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