To a quiet acoustic guitar, the narrator, awakened by a clap of thunder and unable to fall back asleep, ponders a different sense of the title phrase. Then suddenly it stops, as the narrative flashes forward to some period in the future, where he hums a song from 1962.

Piano, female backing vocals, electric guitar and organ are added as the song's emotional nostalgia builds momentum. An intense summertime teenage affair is described, knowingly more sexual than romantic, with short instrumental lines breaking the evocative imagery sometimes in mid-sentence. Bass guitar and drums are introduced as the song's setting is described: 1962, cornfields, '60 Chevy. Richardson said that 'the whole arrangement came together in the studio.' 'Night Moves' is a mid-tempo number that starts quietly with acoustic guitar. As the only members of the Silver Bullet Band still in Toronto were the bassist and drummer (plus Seger on acoustic guitar and piano), Richardson recruited local session musicians to play electric guitar and organ, while Sharon Lee Williams, Rhonda Silver and Laurel Ward sang the song's trademark backing vocals. Seger said that the song was influenced by Bruce Springsteen's ' Jungleland'.

The band quickly recorded two Seger originals, one of which was 'Long Long Gone', and a cover of the Motown hit ' My World Is Empty Without You', but before Seger left on the third day, he composed a fourth song to record. Seger and the Silver Bullet Band went to Toronto for three days to record a few tracks with The Guess Who's producer Jack Richardson, whose Nimbus 9 Productions company was hot at the time.

Night moves chords