"Rearviewmirror" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Pearl Jam. The song is the eighth track on the band's second studio album, '' Vs.'' (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it was primarily written by vocalist Eddie Vedder. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, ''

rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003) ''Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)'' is a two-disc compilation album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 16, 2004 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States. I ...

''.

Origin and recording

"Rearviewmirror" was one of the first songs to feature vocalist Eddie Vedder on guitar. Vedder wrote the song.Garbarini, Vic
"Spit Fire"
'' Guitar World''. February 1995. Guitarist

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. ...

said that the band played the song "exactly like he wrote it." Guitarist

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready ...

experimented with an

EBow The EBow, short for electronic bow or energy bow, is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It is manufactured by Heet Sound Products, of Los Angeles, California. It was invented by Greg Heet i ...

on the song. At the end of the studio cut drummer

Dave Abbruzzese David James Abbruzzese () (born May 17, 1968) is an American musician who was the drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam from 1991 to 1994. He replaced drummer Dave Krusen in 1991, shortly before the release of the band's debut album, '' ...

can be heard throwing his drum sticks against the wall in frustration. This was in response to the pressure that was placed on him by producer

Brendan O'Brien Brendan O'Brien may refer to: *Brendan O'Brien (bishop) (born 1943), Roman Catholic archbishop of Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Brendan O'Brien (cricketer) (born 1942), Irish former cricketer *Brendan O'Brien (journalist), senior Irish journalist on R ...

during the recording of the track.Neely, Kim. ''Five Against One''. Diane Publishing Company, 1999. After recording the track he punched a hole through the snare drum and threw it off the side of a cliff. Vedder finished recording the vocals for the song on the last day of recording for ''Vs.'' Vedder had an issue with the song being too "catchy."

Lyrics

Vedder about "Rearviewmirror":

We start off with the music and it kinds of propels the lyrics. It made me feel like I was in a car, leaving something, a bad situation. There's an emotion there. I remembered all the times I wanted to leave...

Reception

Regarding "Rearviewmirror", David Browne of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' said, "For once, those rippling guitar chords wrap themselves around a real hook, and Eddie's clenched delivery is perfect for a song about the pain of leaving behind a hopeless relationship and moving on." Paul Evans of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' said that "when Vedder roars, 'Saw things...clearer.../Once you were in my rearviewmirror,' it seems that it's not only some personal sorrow that he's willing himself to tear beyond but the entire weight of the past itself."

Live performances

"Rearviewmirror" was first performed live at the band's May 13, 1993 concert in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

at Slim's Café. The song was performed on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' in April 1994 in support of ''Vs.'' Live performances of "Rearviewmirror" can be found on the "

Dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

" single, various official bootlegs, the ''

Live at the Gorge 05/06 ''Live at the Gorge 05/06'' is a seven-disc live box set by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on June 26, 2007 through Rhino Entertainment/Warner Music Group. The box set documents the band's 2005 and 2006 shows at The G ...

'' box set, and the live album ''

Live at Lollapalooza 2007 ''Live at Lollapalooza 2007'' is a live album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam that was released as an iTunes exclusive on September 18, 2007. Overview The album contains Pearl Jam's set from the band's August 5, 2007 appearance at ...

''. Performances of the song are also included on the DVDs ''

Touring Band 2000 ''Touring Band 2000'' is the second DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, culled from performances from the North American legs of the band's 2000 Binaural Tour. It was released on VHS and DVD on May 1, 2001. Overview DV ...

'', ''

Live at the Showbox ''Live at the Showbox'' is the third DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, and the first DVD of a complete show. It was released on May 7, 2003. Overview It was recorded on December 6, 2002 at The Showbox in the band's hom ...

'', and ''

Live at the Garden ''Live at the Garden'' is the fourth DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, recorded on July 8, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was released on November 11, 2003. Overview The DVD documents Pearl Jam on ...

''. It is the first song on the soundtrack of

MLB 2K11 ''Major League Baseball 2K11'' or, in short, ''MLB 2K11'', is an MLB licensed baseball simulation video game published by 2K Sports. ''MLB 2K11'' is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Ni ...

Credits

* Eddie Vedder -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, rhythm guitar *

- rhythm guitar, backing vocals in live performances *

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Prior to his wo ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

- drums

Cover versions

An acoustic version of "Rearviewmirror" performed by

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in ...

appears on Pearl Jam's 1995 "

Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

" single.

Accolades

* denotes an unordered list

References

External links

Lyrics at pearljam.com
{{Authority control 1993 songs Pearl Jam songs Songs written by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Stone Gossard Song recordings produced by Jeff Ament Song recordings produced by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Dave Abbruzzese Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer)