Escrita por Geddy Lee e Neil Peart, foi lançada em 15 de fevereiro de 1975, no disco de mesmo nome, o segundo da banda. Sairia depois em compacto, com Anthem como Lado B. A música foi escrita pelo baixista Geddy Lee e a letra foi escrita pelo baterista Neil Peart. Peart escreveu a letra sobre sua primeira viagem pra longe de casa, em 1971, quando ele tinha 18 anos de idade e saiu de sua pequena cidade no Canadá e foi pra Londres, na Inglaterra. Isto foi um enorme ponto de mutação na vida dele. Lee é quem canta e toca baixo. Alex Lifeson toca guitarra e Neil Peart toca bateria. Em 2012, essa canção foi usada no comercial do Passat, da Volkswagen.
A letra:
Why
try? I know why
This feeling inside me says it's time I was
gone
Clear head, new life ahead
It's time I was king now, not
just one more pawn
Fly by night, away from here
Change
my life again
Fly by night, goodbye, my dear
My ship isn't
coming and I just can't pretend
Moon rise, thoughtful eyes
Staring
back at me from the window beside
No fright or hindsight
Leaving
behind that empty feeling inside
Fly by night, away from here
Change
my life again
Fly by night, goodbye, my dear
My ship isn't
coming and I just can't pretend, whoa
Fly by night, away from here
Change
my life again
Fly by night, goodbye, my dear
My ship isn't
coming and I just can't pretend
Start a new chapter, I find what I'm
after
It's changing every day
The change of a season's enough
of a reason
To want to get away
Quiet and pensive, my thoughts
apprehensive
The hours drift away
Leaving my homeland, playing
a lone hand
My life begins today
Fly by night, away from here
Change
my life again
Fly by night, goodbye, my dear
My ship isn't
coming and I just can't pretend
My ship isn't coming and I just
can't pretend
Fly by night, away from here
Change
my life again
Fly by night, goodbye, my dear
My ship isn't
coming and I just can't pretend
My ship isn't coming and I just
can't pretend
My ship isn't coming and I just can't pretend
A versão do Rush:
A versão de Banda Hot Rocks e Cláudia França: