The word “rearview” puts a listener in motion, even before any music begins. It suggests a view that exists only because someone is moving away. What appears in the mirror may still be close, but it is already behind them.
That image is not a claim about the song's literal story. It is one way into a title that gives almost nothing away and therefore leaves considerable space. In writing about music, it is tempting to pin a neat narrative on an evocative word. Better to let the song supply its own details and use the title as an invitation to listen carefully.
A useful change of scale
“Rearview” is available as a single and sits fourth on Flower Power (Complete Collection). It comes after “Dive Bar Angel” and before “Here Comes Trouble.” Even without assigning a fixed plot to the sequence, that placement creates a change of scale: from a named place and person toward a glance backward, then into a title that announces disruption.
Listening both ways can reveal different things. A single gives the recording undivided attention. In a collection, the end of one track and the beginning of the next become part of the experience. The same song can feel like a pause, a hinge, or a destination depending on what surrounds it.
Listen to “Rearview” by itself, then hear its place in Flower Power. If the words catch you, the lyrics page keeps them connected to the recording.