Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are

Im not really sure the song is all about not really knowing people, personally i think its more about how sometimes we can let the past take over our lives, were always looking back, but sometimes it chaches up with u and can cause chaos.or alternitively we can be very carefull and keep looking behind us and not notice what is happening in fround, the consequenses being jst as bad. I also think because he's talking about how things look different in the mirror it may be how our perseptions have changed and when you look back to your past you dont always remember it as it happened or feel the same as you did at the time.I think maybe he was feeling bad at the time feeling sorry for himself so thinking back to things that have happened...he does make refernces to good points about these things before he lost them showing that he does see sum good..."We were racing, we were soldiers of fortune, We got in trouble but we sure got around"

I believe this song is a combination of both the afore-mentioned opinions and more.

The first part is about relationships to people. "And if life is just a highway, Then the soul is just a car" meaning cars travelling down the highway are like people travelling down the road of life. This suggests that people who "appear" close to you (as a car would in your mirror) and you think you know very well, may be a lot more distant than you perceieve them (may appear closer than they are).

The analogy of souls being like cars on a highway, also allows you to come up with adaptations of this metaphor. A car could take the next off-ramp at any time. Meaning at any point the soul's journey could end (i.e. death) or perhaps that it is easy to alter your journey (change your life) by making one simple turn, but if you don't watch the road carefully you could easily end up on the wrong road again.

The other meaning in this song is in relation to the past, and how although the past is far away, it's in your mind and will always appear closer than it actually is. I.e. although the car behind you may fade into the distance, it can easily creep up on you again. "I'll hear that ugly coarse and violent voice - And then he grabs me from behind - And then he pulls me back". This signifies that the memories of his father, although he knows they were a long way away, (like objects in the rear view mirror) they appear close enough to haunt you and like a car in the rear view mirror, you always have to look back to make sure its still there, and that its not too close, but also that no matter how much you look in the mirror to try and prevent a collision, theres always the possibility of a collision (the past catching up with you).

There are also a lot of other excellent metaphors in the song, "She used her body just like a bandage - she used my body just like a wound" This saying that his soul was wounded and bleeding, and this woman was his "bandage" who although does not heal the wound, allows everything to spill out and be soaked up, (he could tell her everything and she made him feel better) and although this does not heal the wound, it allows the wound to remain clean and heal itself, and not become infected and stay there forever. (The wound referring to his past).

I could go on forever about this song, as its an amazing song. However i don;t know what the posting limit is here.

Anyway this is one of my favourite Meat Loaf songs, its truly amazing and although i am lucky enough not to have experianced most of the contents of this song, im glad to have the opportunity to understand the problems some people face and allow me to make me more gratefull for how easy i've had it

The title is actually a play on words. Side view mirrors are actually labeled \"objects in mirror are closer than they appear.\" This makes sense as there seems to be references to an automobile accident in the song, meaning another car was actually closer than the driver thought and caused a collision.

No they are not at all!! & i have to say i totally DISagree with planetvalerina and agree with wee amanda! The song is not about how weel you know someone"When I grew up with my best friend Kenny We were close as any brothers than you ever knew" hw wud not make such a strong reference to their relationship to say he never knew him and was let down by him!!

The song is about not being able to escape the past & bad things that has happend!! The last line clearly shows this when he ses "But I can see her rising up out of the back seat now" although she has left him and he is alone again he will always have her in the back of his mind, he uses the car as a methaphor for life!!

I think you have all missed one of the most important lines in the song; (sorry if already been mentioned ! ) " then he drags me from behind and he pulls me back" maybe this means that thinking of his father pulls him back into his own painfull memories. just a thort !

Just relating back to what tybrd69 says about Meatloaf's father, Meatloaf doesn't actually sing the middle verse of this song on stage because it is so real to him he can't do it, and only ever sings the other verses. They are on the CD but not in concert. Thats one of the reasons Meatloaf is so great because the songs really mean something and he sings them as if it has happened to him, which often it has.

To me the song speaks of how we tend to hold our past as if it were the here and now.It feels so close yet in reality it is farther away then our future because we cannot go back.

What a great song & great metaphor for life. Just the memories pull him back, like it's just happened, this song pulls me back.

I always thought that the lines "I can see her rising up out of the back seat now" and "I think he's right behind me now and he's gaining ground" were references to death catching up with him as after each he sings "But it was long ago and it was far away, oh God it seems so very far" and "objects in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are" as in death is closer than it used to be and noticing its catching up with him

It’s 3 separate narratives. 1st is the loss of a close friend. 2nd is abuse by his father and the 3rd is about a woman he loved and lost. The song is about how these memories and the pain associated with them still catch up with him even though they happened a long time ago.