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This song is about a young couple losing their virginity in a Chevy. Seger says the song is autobiographical. The girl had a boyfriend away in the military, and when he came back, she married him, breaking Seger's heart.
Seger was inspired by the movie American Graffiti. He says, "I came out of the theater thinking, Hey, I've a story to tell too. Nobody has ever told about how it was to grow up in my neck of the woods." (thanks, Christine - Chicago, IL)
This was recorded in Toronto. Seger's guitarist and sax player had returned to Detroit, so he completed this by bringing in a local guitar player and pianist, as well as some female backup singers from Montreal who happened to be in town. Along with "
Turn The Page," it was one of just two songs Seger ever wrote on the road.
This song helped the Night Moves album sell more than 5 million copies. Seger was big in his home state of Michigan, but this made him famous on a national level.
Seger: "When people ask 'Do you know when you've written a hit?' the usual answer is no. This song was an exception."
Like many of Seger's songs, there is a touch of nostalgia in the lyrics. When he sings, "And it was summertime, sweet summertime, summertime," he's not only referring to the time of the year, but to that season of his life as well. In the last verse of the song, when he is reminiscing, he says, "With autumn closing in" and is referring to the autumn of his life, getting older. (thanks, Kara - Raleigh, NC)
Rolling Stone magazine named this Single Of The Year for 1977.
The tempo changes were inspired by Bruce Springsteen's "
Jungleland." Seger wrote the song in pieces; he had the first two verses written but was having trouble finishing the song. After hearing "Jungleland," he realized he could connect the song with two distinct bridges.
When Seger sings the line about how he dressed in high school, "Tight pants, points, hardly renowned," "Points" refers to small metal objects some teenagers wore on their shoes in the '60s.
Seger had a hard time finishing the lyrics to this. Under pressure from his record company to release an album, he put out Live Bullet in 1976, which bought him time to finish this and include it on the album of the same name.
According to Seger, he and the girl really made it in the backseat of a '62 Chevy, but it didn't fit lyrically, so he changed the line to "My '60 Chevy." (thanks, Darrin - Hilo, HI)
"Night Moves" is also the name of a 1975 movie starring Gene Hackman. (thanks, Bailey - Port Huron, MI)
Garth Brooks often covered this at his concerts.
Seger revealed in a radio interview that the 1962 song he refers to in this number, is "
Be My Baby" by the Ronettes.
Comments (42):
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I did find love again 5yrs later with my wife of 20 years, I traveled the world, reached goals that I never though I could, produced a wonderful son. But, when I smell the fall air or listen to an 85' song of that fall and my heart drops a little. Night Moves and Against the Wind seem to always find their way to my ears and I sit and remember with a smile, a tear, happiness, sadness and wonder. I'm thankful, regretful and think sometimes what could have been.
I wish everyone could have had my 1985 but wouldn't wish my worst enemy a Fall of 86.
"I woke up last night to the sound of thunder, How far off I sat and wondered, started humming a song from 1962. Aint it funny how the Night moves when you don't have as much to lose. Strange how the night moves. With Autumn closing in........"
Rome delasAlas, Seattle WA
When I was a 16, I had a friend who was a guy. We both worked at the local retail store together. He was "a little too tall, coulda used a few pounds". But I liked him regardless. Nothing ever seemed to work out for him and I. When he was single, I was with someone. When I was single, he was with someone. Years and years passed and we became adults. Both went to college, and somewhat kept in contact, consistently floating in and out of each other's lives. One summer, I went through a terrible break up and he was there for me. Every night, it was him and I hanging out under the stars, driving around aimlessly, or just hanging out at the swings at a park. I was 22, he was 21. He lived right down the street from my parents and we would take walks in the dark with the fireflies under the bright 3am moon, talking about the awkward stage we were at in life. We never went out and did anything spectacular, but that summer was one of the best of my life, even though I was heartbroken for most of it. It was the sweet summertime....and we were just so young and restless and bored. It was the last real summer I had of being an irresponsible college student, and I got to spend every night with him. It was wonderful.
Years and years later, we started hanging out again. And we finally started practicing our night moves, after all the years of waiting. We're two people who could never be together because we're so different and "we weren't in love, we're so far from it...", but that doesn't mean we couldn't have a little fun. I've known him since I was 16, now I'm 28. And I love to remember that summer of heartbreak and happiness....Lord do I remember....it always seems that at some of the worst times of your life, you can look back at and remember the good. He was definitely the good in the summer of 2005.
Thank you Bob Seger.
Ken, your story has touched me; Kel is alucky woman.
Lester Long
Ken.... I know exactly how you feel when it comes to hearing a song and some how a certain moment in life can make a song that much better or that much louder in your singing. RIP VRM
"I was a little too stuffed had to lose a few pounds;
Pants too tight seams bustin' out..."
...
"Out there in the bathroom where the air gets heavy;
Sat on a cold seat thought I was ready;
Workin' on crosswords and readin' the news;
Workin' on a bowel move;
Tryin' to move some backed-up drive-through food;
Workin' on a bowel move;
And it was takin' time..."
unknown nationally until night moves....was surprised when I found out he was white....sounded to me a bit like dobie grey
singing "drift away"---"give me the beach boys,
and free my soul, i wanna get lost in some rock and roll and drift away"...actually the theme,
vocals, and harmonics are pretty darn similar
between the two songs.....I remember thinking
it was dobie grey singing night moves at first
It was summer of 1985. My girlfriend and I had gone down to the local "Freedom Festival" (an annual festival celebrating the goodwill that exists between Canada and the U.S). We rode a couple of the rides, ate a couple of cotton candies, and blew a few bucks at the 'Pitch-'till-u-win' booth. We had been going out for a year, and were getting pretty serious in our relationship. I was thinking about ways of approaching the idea of marriage. Eventually, I asked her if she would be interested in looking at engagement rings at the downtown jewlery shops, and she said "Sure!" with a smile. We looked for the better part of the afternoon, and eventually found the one she liked. I plopped down a downpayment (pitifully small on what seemed like something I'd never be able to afford to pay off). What we did for the remainder of the day escapes me now, but it was the ride home after dropping her off that night I'll never forget. The ride home was usually a 20 minute hike down Riverside drive, which eventually turns into Highway 18, and a short turn to my house. That night, it was hot. Sticky, muggy hot. The smell of new summer in the air. And I was on top of the world. My girl said yes, she would marry me. I was at the intersection of Riverside and Caron waiting for the light. The Detroit skyline off to my right. In my Dad's car. A 1973 Plymouth Valiant, deep green, vinyl seats and an AM radio. The disc jockey said "AM 5-8-0, CKWW.... It's 2 AM". I have heard the song on an expensive home stereo, and I have heard the man sing it live (from the good seats, too). But it never sounded better to me than it did that night, coming through those cheap, tinny, factory speakers. those rich strummed chords, and that husky voice. "I was a little too tall, coulda used a few pounds, tight pants, points, hardly renouned..." I sang along with Bob, happier that night, than I ever had been. That the song was recorded not far from here, lends to the story.
I got home late because of the detour, but in a different frame of mind. The leaves got raked, and the garbage still got out. Kel and I have been married for almost 16 years. 16 years, one child, a couple of different addresses, a few deaths and births, some decent vacations, 5 or 6 cars later, and I eventually paid off that engagement ring. And we are still together, me and her.. I came to learn that detours aren't always a bad thing.. As I write this, I see it is 12:30 AM. I am gonna go upstairs and see if Kel wants to practice some night moves. And that's a good thing.
Like Seger says, indeed, ain't it funny how you remember.....
Peace.