A true heartbreak story — there were two young couples and were about to lose their virginity in the back seat of a Chevy. Seger referred to this song as autobiographical but took the liberty to make some changes. The song was his highschool life, he dated a girl who had a military boyfriend, but when the boyfriend came back, the girl married him — which led to Seger’s first heartbreak. Basically, the song represents the freedom and all the possibility of being a high schooler.
“Night Moves” has several meanings – could be “the moves on a girl,” but Seger says it was more of an impromptu dance when he and his buddies were partying in the fields of Ann Arbor, Michigan. They would turn on the headlights and do the “night moves” dance.
One movie was an inspiration for the song as well, Seger’s favorite movie American Graffiti which was released in 1973 but set in 1962.
“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.”
The song was Seger’s breakthrough and introduced him to a much wider audience, it was the title track for the album released in October 1976 as the lead single — it rose to #4 in March 1977, and the start of Seger’s unrivaled musical journey.