The song was released through Interscope and Kidinakorner on March 11, 2022, as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, Mercury – Acts 1 & 2.

[1] It was written by Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, and its producers Mattman & Robin.

On March 9, 2022, the band posted to their social media, asking fans to head over to their official Discord server at 3:00PST for a surprise.

The day afterward, the song was featured in the teaser for the third season of the Amazon Prime Video series, The Boys.

[3] Upon the song's release, Reynolds stated to Rolling Stone, "'Bones' is a reflection of my constant obsession with the finality and fragility of my bone.