Night Fever by the Bee Gees: Lyrics, meaning, film story and more facts

21 January 2025, 11:54

The Bee Gees song is one of the many hits that came from their 1977 film soundtrack Saturday Night Fever.

Saturday Night Fever is one of the Bee Gees’ most famous projects, but how much do you know about the film’s title track?

Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb actually composed ‘Night Fever’ before they got involved with the 1977 film.

• Bee Gees movie: Release date, plot and who will play Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb
• When the Bee Gees’ Maurice and Robin Gibb went head-to-head on The Dating Game – watch
• Who is Lesley Gibb? Bee Gees' sister's age, husband, children and life story explained

The popular dance track’s once-lost music video also has an interesting history, as does the road on which part of it was filmed.

Night Fever (From "Saturday Night Fever" Soundtrack)

Read on to discover more about ‘Night Fever’, from the song’s meaning, to how it shaped the film which took its name, and more...

Who wrote ‘Night Fever’?

‘Night Fever’ was written by the Bee Gees in early 1977, but was only released a year later on the soundtrack for the film Saturday Night Fever.

Years after the success of the disco-fever-focused film, Robin Gibb hilariously admitted the band “didn’t know what was going on” when they incorporated their songs into the project.

Still, the band were incredibly grateful for the success of the film and its soundtrack, with Maurice Gibb later commenting that he believed it “changed [their] lives.”

What is ‘Night Fever’ about?

‘Night Fever’ is a joyful song about enjoying life, music and dance.

Through the song’s lyrics, the Bee Gees successfully conjure up the atmosphere of a great night out where “something is goin’ down”, “there is dancin’ out there” and “the feelin’ is right”.

Bee Gees - Night Fever (Live in Las Vegas, 1997 - One Night Only)

“Here I am / Prayin’ for this moment to last / livin’ on the music so fine” the feel-good disco track’s lyrics continue.

The song’s chorus adds: “Gimme that night fever, night fever / We know how to do it / Gimme that night fever, night fever / We know how to show it.”

How does ‘Night Fever’ link to Saturday Night Fever?

‘Night Fever’ was composed by the Bee Gees before their manager, Robert Stigwood, asked if they would like to be involved with the music for a disco-focused film he was producing.

Originally called Saturday Night, unbelievably, the Bee Gees weren’t immediately sold on the idea of writing some songs to go with the film’s title.

But Robert got the band on board by agreeing to change the film’s name to Saturday Night Fever, and to incorporate the band’s already penned song into the soundtrack.

Of course, the Bee Gees went on to share six more of their tracks for the famous film’s soundtrack.

These were: ‘Staying’ Alive’, ‘How Deep Is Your Love’, ‘More Than a Woman’, ‘Jive Talkin’’, ‘You Should Be Dancing’ and ‘If I Can’t Have You’, the latter of which was sung by Yvonne Elliman rather than the Gibb brothers.

Saturday Night Fever tells the story of Italian-American painter Tony Manero (John Travolta), who escapes his dull day-to-day life by taking to the dancefloor of his local discotheque every night.

Saturday Night Fever (1977) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers

The film became a blockbuster hit after its release in December 1977, and prior to the release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller in 1982, its accompanying soundtrack held the record for being the best-selling album of all time.

Speaking in The Observer Music Monthly while celebrating the film’s 30th anniversary in January 2008, Robin Gibb revealed that the Bee Gees were somewhat surprised by the success of Saturday Night Fever and the disco fever it inspired, which they became synonymous with.

“Until the film came out, 'disco' meant something very different in the UK to the US. We were writing what we considered to be blue-eyed soul. We never set out to make ourselves the kings of disco...

“When we went to the premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles it was obvious the film and the songs really gelled, but none of us had any idea how huge it would become,” Robin added.

Who has covered ‘Night Fever’?

In 1996, ‘Night Fever’ was covered by Austrian Eurodance group EX-IT. While the band kept large sections of the original song in their track, they added several rap verses to put their own stamp on it.

EX-IT - Night Fever ( Original 12" Mix )

The cast of Glee also covered Night Fever in 2012. The song featured in the 16th episode of season three of the show, which was called 'Saturday Night Glee-ver'.

Is there a ‘Night Fever’ music video?

Yes, the Bee Gees recorded a music video for ‘Night Fever’ ready for its release as a single in January 1978. However, this music video wasn’t released until almost 30 years later.

Bee Gees - Night Fever

Alongside ‘Night Fever’, music videos were also made at the same time for ‘Staying Alive’ and ‘How Deep Is Your Love’, both of which were later re-filmed and re-released.

But in the case of ‘Night Fever’, no replacement video was ever released. It took until 2004 for fans to see the original video which had been filmed nearly 30 years earlier.

Where was the ‘Night Fever’ music video filmed?

Night Fever’s music video features footage of the Bee Gees singing in a studio, layered over footage of a drive along a Florida street.

The street in question, Florida's Collins Avenue, was once known as ‘Motel Row’ owing to the many motels it featured along its 3-mile strip which leads from Miami Beach to Sunny Isles Beach.

Collins Avenue is still home to several hotels and nightclubs today, but nothing like as many as it was when the night-time scenes of the Bee Gees’ music video were shot on it.