Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament's previous band, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with their debut album, Ten, in 1991. Ten stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for nearly five years, and has gone on to become one of the highest-selling rock records ever, going 13× platinum in the United States. Released in 1993, Pearl Jam's second album, Vs., sold over 950,000 copies in its first week of release, setting the record for most copies of an album sold in its first week of release at the time. Their third album, Vitalogy (1994), became the second-fastest-selling CD in history at the time, with more than 877,000 units sold in its first week.
One of the key bands in the grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam's members often shunned popular music industry practices such as making music videos or participating in interviews. The band also sued Ticketmaster, claiming it had monopolized the concert-ticket market. In 2006, Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."
Pearl Jam had sold more than 85 million albums worldwide by 2018, including nearly 32 million albums in the United States by 2012, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 in its first year of eligibility. They were ranked eighth in a readers' poll by Rolling Stone magazine in its "Top Ten Live Acts of All Time" issue. Throughout its career, the band has also promoted wider social and political issues, from pro-abortion rights sentiments to opposition to George W. Bush's presidency. Vedder acts as the band's spokesman on these issues.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Jam
Studio albums
Ten (1991)
Vs. (1993)
Vitalogy (1994)
No Code (1996)
Yield (1998)
Binaural (2000)
Riot Act (2002)
Pearl Jam (2006)
Backspacer (2009)
Lightning Bolt (2013)
Gigaton (2020)
Rearviewmirror
Pearl Jam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Time to emancipate
I guess it was the beatings made me wise
But I'm not about to give thanks, or apologize
I couldn't breathe, holdin' me down
Hand on my face
Pushed to the ground
Forced to endure
What I could not forgive
I seem to look away
Wounds in the mirror waved
It wasn't my surface most defiled
Head at your feet, fool to your crown
Pissed on my plate, swallowed it down
Enmity gauged, united by fear
Tried to endure
What I could not forgive
Saw things
Saw things
Saw things
Saw things
Clearer
Clearer once you, were in my rearviewmirror
I gather speed from you fucking with me
Once and for all
I'm far away
I hardly believe
Finally the shades, are raised, hey yeah
Saw things so much clearer
Once you, once you (rearviewmirror)
Saw things so much clearer
Once you, once you (rearviewmirror)
Saw things so much clearer
Once you, once you (rearviewmirror)
Saw things so much clearer
Once you, oh yeah
The lyrics to Pearl Jam's song Rearviewmirror describe the singer's journey of self-liberation and realization. The singer expresses the pain and trauma they experienced in the past, which made them wiser and stronger but unwilling to thank or apologize to their oppressors. The memories of the beatings, suffocation, forced endurance, and humiliation are vivid, especially in the mirror that reflects their wounds. However, the singer has decided to leave the past behind and move forward, gathering speed and distancing themselves from the oppressors. The song's title, Rearviewmirror, is a metaphor for looking back and gaining clarity on the situation from a different perspective, rather than living in the past.
The lyrics' emotional significance resonated with many people as it speaks to their experiences of pain, trauma, and healing. In addition, Pearl Jam's lead singer Eddie Vedder said that he wrote the song after quitting alcohol, and it reflects his personal journey of self-discovery and determination.
Line by Line Meaning
I took a drive today
I went for a drive to clear my head
Time to emancipate
It was time for me to break free
I guess it was the beatings made me wise
I learned from the pain and abuse inflicted on me
But I'm not about to give thanks, or apologize
I won't show gratitude or say sorry for what I went through
I couldn't breathe, holdin' me down
I felt suffocated and restrained
Hand on my face
Someone put their hand on my face, trying to silence me
Pushed to the ground
Someone forced me down, making me feel powerless
Enmity gaged, united by fear
We felt hostility towards each other, but were bound together by fear
Forced to endure
I had to suffer through something I couldn't escape
What I could not forgive
I couldn't bring myself to forgive what was done to me
I seem to look away
I tried to avoid facing my problems
Wounds in the mirror waved
The scars of my past reflected back at me
It wasn't my surface most defiled
My outer appearance wasn't what was most damaged
Head at your feet, fool to your crown
I was subservient to someone who saw themselves as superior
Pissed on my plate, swallowed it down
Someone treated me with disrespect and I had to take it
Enmity gauged, united by fear
We felt hostility towards each other, but were bound together by fear
Tried to endure
I attempted to endure something that was difficult to handle
What I could not forgive
I couldn't bring myself to forgive what was done to me
Saw things
I realized things
Saw things
I realized things
Saw things
I realized things
Saw things
I realized things
Clearer
I saw things more clearly
Clearer once you, were in my rearviewmirror
I was able to see things more clearly once you were out of my life
I gather speed from you fucking with me
You pushing my buttons only made me more motivated to succeed
Once and for all
Finally, once and for all
I'm far away
I've put distance between us
I hardly believe
I can barely believe it myself
Finally the shades, are raised, hey yeah
Finally, I'm removing the barriers and seeing things more clearly
Saw things so much clearer
I realized things much more clearly
Once you, once you (rearviewmirror)
Once you were out of my life
Saw things so much clearer
I realized things much more clearly
Once you, once you (rearviewmirror)
Once you were out of my life
Saw things so much clearer
I realized things much more clearly
Once you, once you (rearviewmirror)
Once you were out of my life
Saw things so much clearer
I realized things much more clearly
Once you, oh yeah
Once you were out of my life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: David Abbruzzese, Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@PenpimolKotchabhakdi
I listened this song since I was 19 and now I’m 49 nearly 50. This song is still great. 30 years ago time flies so fast.
@kimlee7458
I was 32. Now I'm a 64 yr old grandmother and still love them. Won tickets to see them in concert in 1996 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia Md and they were awesome.
@Aieiebrazor
Me too..
@BLOVES
I was 17 and now 47 🩷
@evill5644
This came out as I was graduating HS. 30 years later, those same feelings of rebellion, had enough of your BS, moving forward still come into play when I hear it. Need to see PJ at least once before it's too late.
@someone_takes_me5107
Unexpected reminder of how good this track is.
@flipjupiter5077
I never forgot. It's incredible.
@mentalcupcakes8142
Honestly I'm glad to see PJ still making music, one of the few surviving 90's grunge bands still putting out quality music decades later.
@flamingcheetopuff8434
They're the only one making original music and not nostalgic reissues like nirvana.
@jxchamb
New single is expected to drop before the end of the year. And new record is rumored for February '24. Can't wait. Supposed to be a very Mike heavy record.