"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" is a song written by

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

and performed by American rock singer

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

with additional vocals by Lorraine Crosby. The song was released in August 1993 by MCA and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

as the first single from the singer's sixth album, '' Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell'' (1993). The last six verses feature Crosby, who was credited only as "Mrs. Loud" in the album notes. She does not appear in the accompanying music video, directed by

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...

, in which her vocals are lip-synched by Dana Patrick. Meat Loaf promoted the single with American singer

Patti Russo Patricia Russo (May 20, 1964) is an American singer and songwriter. She acted as Meat Loaf's female lead vocalist, touring the world with his band Neverland Express between 1993 and 2013. Since then, she has embarked on a solo career. Work wit ...

. The

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

was a commercial success, reaching number one in 28 countries. The single was

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the United States and became Meat Loaf's first and only number-one and top ten single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100. It also became Meat Loaf's first and only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, and was the best-selling single of 1993 in the United Kingdom. The song earned Meat Loaf a

Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

Music and lyrics

The timings in this article refer to the original album version. There are many shorter single and radio edits. The song opens with a guitar played to sound like a revving motorcycle.

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synth ...

's piano begins to play along with the guitars and drums. The vocals begin at the 1:50 point. The opening vocals are accompanied by piano and backing vocals. The song then becomes much louder as the band, predominantly piano, plays the main melody for twenty seconds. An instrumental section follows the first verse and chorus, lasting over 45 seconds, with piano playing the title melody, accompanied by guitar and wordless background vocals by

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

Rory Dodd Rory Dodd (born Port Dover, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian rock vocalist who has performed many songs written by Jim Steinman. He is probably best known for singing as the duet voice (the "Turn around, bright eyes" lyrics) on Bonnie Tyler's versi ...

and

Kasim Sulton Kasim as a given name, a variant of Qasim. It may refer to: People known only by the given name Kasim *Kasım Pasha, Ottoman general and governor *Kasım of Karaman, the last bey of the Karaman Beylik, a Turkish principality in Anatolia *Şehza ...

. The lead vocals recommence with another verse. The phrase "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" was changed to "Some days I just pray to the god of sex and drums and rock and roll" on the recording, although Meat Loaf occasionally sang the original phrase when performing the song live. The lyrics "I'd do anything for love, but I won't do that" were first used in the song "Getting So Excited" (written by Alan Gruner), recorded by

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' and its ...

in the album ''

Faster Than the Speed of Night ''Faster Than the Speed of Night'' is the fifth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in Europe on 8 April 1983 and later that year in the US through Columbia Records. After releasing four albums on RCA, Tyler signed with ...

'', which was produced by Steinman.

Duet coda

At the 9:28 point, the song transforms into a

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

coda. The structure of the verses remains, but the woman now asks what the man would do. He answers in the affirmative for the first four sections. The song's tone changes for the final two sections, in which the woman, played by Lorraine Crosby on the original recorded version, predicts that the man would eventually do things to upset her and their relationship. Both times, he denies it.

Perceived ambiguity of "that"

An early episode of the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

program ''

Pop-up Video ''Pop Up Video'' is a VH1 television show that shows music videos annotated via "pop-up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia and witticisms relating to the video in question. The show was created by Woody T ...

'' commented, "Exactly what Meat Loaf won't do for love remains a mystery to this day." A reviewer writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

commented, "The lyrics build suspense by portraying a romance-consumed lover who pledges to do anything in the name of love except 'that,' a mysterious thing that he will not specify." Frank O'day says the lyrics provide "an enlightening example of how listeners project their own thoughts, values, and concerns onto the meaning of the song with misconstrued lyrics." Meat Loaf said the question, "What is 'that'?" was one of the most common questions he was asked. He felt the message in the lyrics was clear, but Steinman had expected they would cause confusion. In his 1998 ''

VH1 Storytellers ''Storytellers'' is a television music series produced by the VH1 network. In each episode, artists perform in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat ...

'' special, he explained the lyrics on stage using a blackboard and a pointer."Meat Loaf", ''VH1 Storytellers'', VD/ref> In each verse the man describes things he ''would do'' for love, such as "I'd run right into hell and back", followed by a promise of something he ''will never do'', such as "I'll never forget the way you feel right now." He then declares again that he "would do anything for love, but ewon't do that." "That" refers to whatever he promised he will never do, making the declaration "I won't do that" a simple repetition of the promise. At the song's conclusion, the lyrics are more straightforward, where the woman suggests he will abandon her - "... you'll see that it's time to move on", "... you'll be screwing around", to which he replies, "I won't do that."

Recording

English singer Lorraine Crosby sang the other part of the duet. She and her partner Stuart Emerson had moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to work with Steinman, who became their manager and secured them a contract with Meat Loaf's label MCA. While visiting the company's studios on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

, Crosby was asked to provide guide vocals for Meat Loaf, who was recording the song. Crosby recalls, "In I went and sang it twice and I never thought anything more of it until six months later when I got a phone call saying, 'Would you mind if we used your vocals?'" As Crosby had recorded her part as guide vocals, she received no royalties from the song.

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...

and

had been considered for the role. Tyler, who described Crosby as "a great friend of mine from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

", said: "Meat Loaf was naughty, really: he gave her no acknowledgement on the album but I think her part really made that song."

Critical reception

Critical reaction was mixed.

said that "Meat Loaf sells the borderline-campy lyrics with a full-throated vocal whose stirring sense of conviction brings out the heart hidden behind the clever phrases."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote that the song "has Mr. Loaf's emotionally charged vocal fronting a mammoth mix (and what sounds like a cast of thousands). Cohort

Steinman Steinman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alan M. Steinman (born 1945), American physician, United States Coast Guard admiral and activist * David Steinman, American environmentalist and writer * David B. Steinman (1886–196 ...

gives it his all here, providing epic power chords, angelic backing choruses, a romance-laden duet with fellow MCA signee "Mrs. Loud", and anthemic pace changes calculated to raise every lighter in the arena." He also described it as "a glorious exercise in

rock'n'roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

excess." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it four out of five and named it Pick of the Week, commenting, "This "edited" epic still checks in at nearly eight minutes and includes all the bombast you would expect whenever Meat and Jim Steinman meet. It's way over the top, but that's part of its appeal and, as such, is destined to become a very large hit." Paul Moody from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' remarked that Meat Loaf "indulges in his old favourite trick of adapting a histrionic piano rock plodder to the epic heights of ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''" on the song. Matt Birkbeck from ''

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called it a "guilty pleasure". British adventurer

Bear Grylls Edward Michael "Bear" Grylls (; born 7 June 1974) is a British adventurer, writer, television presenter and former Special Air Service, SAS trooper who is also a survival expert. He first drew attention after embarking on a number of notable ...

cites this song as his inspiration to apply for selection into the SAS: "Enthusiasm and determination count for so much more than skills, brains or qualifications... and all this expressed itself to me through Meatloaf's song!".

Performance

The song reached number one in the charts in 28 countries. In most countries, it was Meat Loaf's first and only number one solo single. It was number one in the US for five weeks and sold over 1.4 million copies there. In the UK, it topped the singles chart for seven weeks, and at seven minutes and 52 seconds, "I'd Do Anything for Love" becoming the longest song on top there since

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' hit "

Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' fir ...

". This was then broken when

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentAll Around the World", clocking in at 9 minutes and 38 seconds. In the United Kingdom, this was the biggest hit of 1993, selling 723,000 copies in 1993. As a result of its success, "

Bat Out of Hell ''Bat Out of Hell'' is the debut studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. The album was developed from the musical ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of '' Peter Pan'' which Steinman wrote for a worksho ...

" was reissued in the UK, this time reaching the top ten (which it did not achieve on its first release in 1979), meaning Meat Loaf achieved the rare feat of having two singles in the UK top ten at the same time. Meat Loaf won a

for the song. In Germany, the song is the seventh best-selling pop hymn ever.

Music video

American film director and producer

directed the accompanying music video for "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". He also directed the videos for " Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are" and "

Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" is a song written by American composer Jim Steinman. It was first featured on Steinman's 1981 solo album '' Bad for Good'', with lead vocals by an uncredited Rory Dodd. It was later recorded by American singer ...

", also from ''Bat Out of Hell II''. Filming took place in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

in July 1993; the opening chase was filmed at

Chávez Ravine Chavez Ravine is a shallow canyon in Los Angeles, California. It sits in a large promontory of hills north of downtown Los Angeles, next to Major League Baseball's Dodger Stadium. Chavez Ravine was named for a 19th-century Los Angeles councilm ...

, with the interior mansion scenes filmed at

Greystone Mansion The Greystone Mansion, also known as the Doheny Mansion, is a Tudor Revival architecture, Tudor Revival mansion on a landscaped estate with distinctive formal English gardens, located in Trousdale Estates of Beverly Hills, California, United Sta ...

in Beverly Hills. The

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

was

Daniel Pearl Daniel Pearl (October 10, 1963 – February 1, 2002) was an American journalist who worked for ''The Wall Street Journal.'' On January 23, 2002, he was kidnapped by Jihadism, jihadist militants while he was on his way to what he had expected wou ...

, particularly known for filming ''

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, ...

'' in 1973. Pearl says that this video "is one of my personal all-time favorite projects... I think the cinematography is pure, and it tells a story about the song." The video is based on ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' and ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

''.

Bob Keen Robert Keen is a British film director and make-up artist. Career He has directed eight films, including ''The Lost World (1998 film), The Lost World'', but he has also written screenplays, as well as working on special, visual and make-up effe ...

did Meat Loaf's make-up, which took up to two hours to apply. The make-up was designed to be simple and scary, yet "with the ability to make him sympathetic." The shoot went over budget, and was filmed in heat, across four days. According to one executive, it "probably had the budget of ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...

''." The video, which was the abridged seven-minute version of the song rather than the twelve-minute album version, was put into heavy rotation on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. The actress in the video, Dana Patrick, is miming to Crosby's vocals; she did the same for

's vocals in the 1995 song " I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)". According to the captions aired on ''

Pop-Up Video ''Pop Up Video'' is a VH1 television show that shows music videos annotated via "pop-up" bubbles — officially called "info nuggets" — containing trivia and witticisms relating to the video in question. The show was created by Woody T ...

'', Patrick received several offers for record deals after the video aired, from executives who assumed she was actually singing in the video.

Synopsis

The story begins with the opening credits saying: "I have travelled across the universe through the years to find her. Sometimes going all the way is just a start." We then see "The Beast" character – a deformed man portrayed by Meat Loaf, on a motorbike being chased by police officers and a helicopter. As the chase continues into night, the Beast passes into a graveyard and into what appears to be a very ornate mausoleum, hiding from his pursuers. He mournfully examines his deformed hands and features. As the officers enter and examine the mausoleum, he crashes through the wall with his motorbike and accidentally knocks down a police officer (whose shotgun goes off): this causes one of the chandeliers on the ceiling to fall and kill the officer. In desperation, the Beast flees into the nearby woods where he comes across a beautiful woman bathing/cooling herself by a fountain. The woman appears to be in sunny daylight, while the rest of the woods and castle clearly show that it is night-time. The woman looks into a mirror and glimpses the Beast watching her. She turns and he flees leaving only an amulet hanging on a branch. The woman picks it up and pursues him. As she approaches the castle, the Beast is watching her movements through the reflection of his drink. As she comes into the castle, the Beast hurriedly removes himself. The woman sits in his chair and rests by the fire. The Beast watches her from his hall of mirrors and contemplates approaching her but is ashamed of his appearance. She later is seen having a bath, interspersed with the police officers finding the dead officer's body and preparing to raid the castle. She is later seen trying to sleep while being seduced by three vampy women, while the Beast sits in a chair (a reference to

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

and the Brides). The Beast leaves the room and, seeing his reflection, begins to smash up the mirrors. The woman, hearing the noise, comes out and follows him into a presumable living room. The Beast observes her from above and levitates the chair she is sitting on. The Beast, then hearing the officers are near, moves away, and pulls the chair back down, breaking a lamp. The two run away and the woman removes the Beast's hood so she can look at him clearly. She accepts him and caresses his face while they embrace. As they pull away, the Beast is returned to his human form, and the two disappear just before the police catch them. The woman and the transformed Beast finally ride off into the sunrise on his motorbike.

Track listings

The single cover is a cropped version of the painting ''Leavetaking'' by fantasy illustrator

Michael Whelan Michael Whelan (born June 29, 1950) is an Americans, American artist of imaginative Realism (arts), realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has ...

, who also painted the ''Bat Out of Hell II'' cover.

Personnel

– vocals * Lorraine Crosby – female lead vocals (as "Mrs. Loud") *

– backing vocals *

Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...

– synthesizer,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

Tim Pierce Tim Pierce (born 1958 in Albuquerque) is an American session guitarist. He has worked for artists such as Joe Cocker, Crowded House, Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Beth Hart, Roger Waters, Alice Cooper, Johnny Hallyday, Phil Collins, and th ...

, Eddie Martinez – guitar * Steve Buslowe – bass *

Kenny Aronoff Kenneth D. Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American drummer, best known for his work as a session and touring musician. He has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists throughout his career, including the Rolling Stones, the Smashing ...

– drums *

– piano

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

A dance

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

by German

Eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

group Jam Tronik reached No. 15 on the

Austrian singles chart Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

in 1994.

References