various different things going on, and I thought to myself, 'That's how I'll finish 'Night Moves.'" To Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh the coda after the false ending takes the song beyond the realm of nostalgia to turn it into a complete story covering both the past and the present. According to Marsh the song could be "about the sexual discovery embodied in the verses, or about the sense of loss and nostalgia captured in its coda. Or you could say that the Bob Seger story really took place in the long silence between them, from the moment he began to play to the moment, fifteen years later, when he was finally widely heard." Marsh also states that the characters in "Night Moves" are more realistic than those in American Graffiti in that the characters in "Night Moves" don't pretend to expect fidelity when pursuing sex, and that the coda reveals how "trivial such a crucial moment" becomes years later. Seger described writing the song: Chart performance "Night Moves" was a commercial success in the United States. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of December 11, 1976 at number 85, gradually rising over the ensuing weeks to a peak of number four on March 12, 1977, a position it held for two weeks. "Night Moves" was Seger's first single to chart in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. In total, it spent 21 weeks on the chart. In Canada, the song debuted on RPM Top Singles chart at number 93 in the issue dated December 18, 1976, eventually rising over the course of twelve weeks to a peak of number five on March 12, 1977. The song also charted in Australasian territories: in Australia, it peaked at number 25 on the national charts, and in New Zealand, it reached a peak of number 39. The song did not chart in the United Kingdom until 1995, when it peaked at a position of 45 on April 30, 1995. Reception "Night Moves" received critical acclaim. Timothy White of Crawdaddy! felt "the genius of the song [...] is the way Seger changes the meaning of the phrase 'night moves,' from a reference to making out, to a comment on the passage of time." Billboard described "Night Moves" as having a similar feel and theme to Van Morrison's "Wild Night," stating that the theme was "the earthy