"Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" is a song composed and written by Jim Steinman, and recorded by Meat Loaf. The song was released in 1994 as the third single from the album Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and it reached number 38 on US's Billboard Hot 100, and number 26 in the UK Top 40. With its chart success, this song became the hit with the longest un-bracketed title at fifty-two characters as of 2007[update]. The title is derived from the safety warning on car side mirrors in the US, "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear".
Parts of the melody were adapted from Steinman's earlier tune "Surf's Up", which appears on Steinman's solo album Bad for Good. Steinman later reused the melody, with new lyrics by Michael Kunze, for "Die Unstillbare Gier", a song in the Tanz der Vampire productions, and for "Confession of a Vampire" in the ill-fated US version (Dance of the Vampires). (Full article...)