I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)

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I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Will not Do That) (. English for: " For love I would do anything (but I will not do) ") is a 1993 rock ballad published and the most successful song of the US- American rock singer Meat Loaf , which was released as the first single from his album Bat out of Hell II: Back Into Hell and reached number 1 in the single charts in 28 countries. The track became Meat Loaf's first number 1 single in the UK and US. The song includes a female vocal part that was only noted on the album as Mrs. Loud. She was later recognized as Lorraine Crosby, a singer from North West England who sang regularly at summer camps and social clubs. In the video, however, she was not to be seen, instead Dana Patrick lip-synched her vocals. The American singer Patti Russo takes on the female vocal partat concerts.

The song's title appears as a referential reference in Getting So Excited , a song on Jim Steinman 's Bonnie Tyler album Faster Than the Speed ​​of Night , where it is part of a casual conversation in a bar. The single cover is a cropped version of the painting Leavetaking by fantasy illustrator Michael Whelan, who also painted the cover image of Bat out of Hell II .

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Music & text

The song starts with a guitar-played sound that sounds like an accelerating motorcycle (a reference to Todd Rundgren's contribution in the middle of the song, "Bat out of Hell"). After this guitar sound, the piano begins with a repeating pattern . The guitar and drums do not start until later and thus generate an increasing sound spectrum in which the piano pattern is superimposed with the guitar riffs . The sound spectrum is reduced towards the end of the intro until only the piano remains. This forms the basis for the singing of Meat Loaf, who with the words:

And I would do anything for love
I'd run right into hell and back
(German: And I would do anything for love
I would run to hell and back)

begins. This opening chant is also accompanied by delicate backing vocals . After the first chorus there is a change of tempo. It gets much faster and the piano with guitar and drums play a short interlude and thus lead to the first verse. In this verse, the vocals are only accompanied by drums and soft guitars. The pace only changes back to a slower one with the words:

And maybe I'm crazy, oh it's crazy and it's true
I know you can save me, no one else can save me now but you

Already the following lines the tempo becomes faster again and the vocals are accompanied by ascending backing vocals. Towards the end of this section there is a ritardando and this leads back to a slower pace. After the chorus, the choir repeats these lines:

I would do anything for love
Anything you've been dreaming of
But I just won't do that
(German: I would do anything for love
Everything you dreamed of
But i won't do that)

This is followed by a 45-second instrumental passage, followed by the piano playing the theme song, accompanied by guitar and wordless backing vocals by Todd Rundgren , Rory Dodd and Kasmin Sulton. The main vocals begin again with a new verse. The popular phrase "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" was censored and changed to "Some days I just pray to the god of sex and drums and rock and roll". This is followed by a slower part that begins with the words “Maybe I'm lonely ...”, which is followed by a faster section with ascending backing vocals. At the end there is a ritardando, which ends at a slower pace.

After 9:28 minutes, the song turns into a duet. This part can be seen as a separate section in which the woman asks the man questions about all the things he would do for her. He replies that he would do whatever she just described. His words "I can Do that" are supported by backing vocals, which gives his words more weight. As he sings the last "that", she interrupts him by mentioning other things he would do for her. In her verses she draws on images such as:

Will you make me some magic with your own two hands?
(Eng .: will you conjure up something for me with both of your hands?)
Can you build an emerald city with these grains of sand?
(German: Can you build me an emerald city from these grains of sand?)

For the two finals, the woman suspects that he might do things that could hurt her and endanger their relationship: that he forget all memories of her and the feelings between them and move on ("to move on") and whore around ("screwing around ”) would. Both times the man replies “But I won't do that”.

The song ends with the last chorus, which is not only accompanied by piano and backing vocals, but also slows down.

All Music Guide says: "Meat Loaf sells the borderline kitschy lyrics with a guttural voice, whose moving conviction brings out the warmth that is hidden behind the clever phrases." (Originally: 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.)

Meaning of the word "that"

Each stanza includes two things he would do for love, followed by one thing he won't. Any mention of "that" is an indication of a particular promise he made earlier in the same stanza.

  • "But I'll never forget the way you feel right now ..." (Eng. "But I'll never forget how you feel right now ...")
  • "But I'll never forgive myself if we don't go all the way tonight ..." (Eng. "But I'll never forgive myself if we don't do it tonight ...")
  • "But I'll never do it better than I do it with you ..." (Eng. "But I'll never do it better than with you ...")
  • "But I'll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life ..." (Eng. "But I'll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life ...")

However, some people get the lyrics wrong, claiming that the singer never determined exactly what "that" is that he is not ready to do. An early episode of the VH1 show "Pop-Up Video" claimed at the end of the music video: "What exactly Meat Loaf would not do for love remains a mystery to this day". A reviewer who wrote for All Music Guide also misunderstood the lyrics, commenting, “The lyrics create tension by portraying a romance-destroying lover who promises to do anything for love except 'that,' a mystery that never will is precisely defined. "

Meat Loaf says in the VH1 Storytellers video that the question, "What is 'that'?" Is one of the most common questions he's asked. He even explained the meaning on the stage, using a blackboard and a pointer.

Jim Steinman said on the Back into Hell: Meat Loaf & Jim Steinman Interview DVD, “It's kind of a little puzzle and I suspect it will go on - but it's all great stuff. I won't stop doing beautiful things and I will not stop doing bad things. It's very classy. I am proud of this song because it is pretty much the same as the world of Excalibur. To me it's like Sir Lancelot or something - very noble and chivalrous. It's my favorite song on the record - it's very ambitious. "

Chart placements

Charts Top ranking Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK) Germany (GfK) 1 (26 weeks) 26th
Austria (Ö3) Austria (Ö3) 1 (19 weeks) 19th
Switzerland (IFPI) Switzerland (IFPI) 1 (25 weeks) 25th
United Kingdom (OCC) United Kingdom (OCC) 1 (21 weeks) 21st
United States (Billboard) United States (Billboard) 1 (44 weeks) 44

length

Steinman's songs are usually much longer than most other songs, and “I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)” is no exception. The song is a full 12 minutes long, and Steinman whined when executives advised him to cut the song to be played on the radio. Manager Allen Kovac warned that all songs over 5 minutes would not be played on the radio and said if Steinman and the group didn't make the cut, the broadcasters would. Even after they made the cuts, Steinman sent his own version to the broadcasters.

The single version was reduced to 5:25 minutes, in which the entire motorcycle introduction was omitted. The video version, in which the motorcycle intro was only partially preserved, was cut to 7:38 minutes. In both the single and the video version, the detailed instrumental section has been left out. In both versions, the chorus "I'd do anything for love, anything you've been dreaming of, but I just won't do that", which is sung three times before the instrumental section, was only sung twice. The same chorus is sung seven times before the line “But I'll never stop dreaming of you…”, in the video version only three times (in the single version this line was cut out at this point and only appears once in the song).

In the single and video version, the line “ And some nights, I lose the feeling. And some nights I lose control. Some nights, I just lose it all when I watch you dance and the thunder rolls ”cut out.

Lorraine Crosby (whose vocals were lip-synched in the video by model / actress Dana Patrick) has six sections in which she sings. In the video version, the second and third stanzas have been removed, and in the single version the fifth stanza has been removed.

Music video

Michael Bay directed the music video. He also directed "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are" and "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" (both from the Bat Out of Hell II album ). The film was shot in Los Angeles County, California in July 1993. The initial chase was filmed in Chavez Ravine, the interior of the castle in Greystone Mansion, Beverly Hills. The cameraman was Daniel Pearl, best known for shooting “ The Texas Chain Saw Massacre ” in 1973. Pearl said this video “is one of my all time favorite projects ... I think the camerawork is flawless and it tells a story about that Song."

The video is based on Beauty and the Beast , Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Phantom of the Opera . Bob Keane did meat loafs makeup, which took up to two hours to complete. The makeup was designed to be simple and scary, but "with the ability to make him personable." The video exceeded budget and was shot for 4 days at 32 ° C. According to an insider, it "probably had the budget of 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'." It is the abridged 7-minute single version rather than the 12-minute album version.

Actress Dana Patrick also starred in the video for "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" from the album " Welcome to the Neighborhood . She mimes Crosby's vocals, just like Patti Russo did on the 1995 song. After "Pop-up Video" was subtitled by executives who assumed she was actually singing on the video, and Patrick received multiple offers for record deals after the video aired. Lip-syncing also became Meat Loaf's video " Paradise by the Dashboard Light " Discovered from the original Bat out of Hell album, in which Karla DeVito lip-synched Ellen Foley's vocals.

action

The video begins with a chase and the quote: “I traveled across the universe for years to find her. Sometimes walking the whole distance is just the beginning ... ”A police car and helicopter chase a motorcycle into a Gothic castle, a level similar to the beginning of the video for“ Bat out of Hell ”. The police search the rundown lock with flashlights. Suddenly a motorbike, driven by a beast, crashes through the wall and fires a shot from a policeman's gun that hits a chandelier that falls on the man (the same actor was in the Bud Lights commercial "I Love You, Man" see).

The beast runs through dark forests to spy on a young woman (Dana Patrick) at a well. She feels watched as the sunlight reflects off the beast's pendant in her hand mirror. The latter drops the trailer when she escapes, whereupon the woman picks it up and follows her.

Both characters seem to be walking through the forest, immersed in high-key with a blue tint. A cut follows and you can see the beast sitting in the old castle and holding a goblet in which she sees the reflection of the young woman's face. As she runs through the forest, she passes the castle.

A group of police officers seal the lock with yellow warning tape. The hand of the policeman from the earlier scene is shown, along with a blood-stained shard from the chandelier.

Various scenes are interspersed, some with Meat Loaf with and without make-up, some bathing with the girl, then lying on a bed with three muses who seemingly prepare them for the encounter with the beast. This has nuances from Ken Russell's video for Steinman's 1989 Pandora's Box production of It's All Coming Back to Me Now (blues and yellows are used for different periods of time, in the same way as 16 years later in the video for Meat Loafs and Marion Ravens Version of “It's All Coming Back to Me Now”, which takes place in a similar Gothic castle and also uses reflection).

The beast furiously smashes the mirror after seeing its reflection. The woman is sitting on a couch that is beginning to float upwards, controlled by the beast with a kinetoscope . This was repeated live on stage a few times in 2004. She begins to sing her lines:

Will you raise me up, would you help me down?
(Eng .: will you help me up, would you help me down again?)
Will you get me right out of this godforsaken town?
(Eng .: will you get me out of this godforsaken city?)

During this duet, the beast and the woman are not seen at the same time; then the group of policemen enter the castle and look for the beast. The kinetoscope shatters, the chair falls, and the beast and woman unite as they run out of the room.

When they stop in a corridor with the line “And you'll see that it's time to move on” (Eng .: and you'll see that it's time to move on), the girl sees the beast's face for the first time. Then, as she hugs the beast, its face transforms back into human form. The couple disappears from the castle while he announces “But I won't do that” and ride the motorcycle into the sunset. (This last shot becomes the first scene later in the video for “I'd Lie for You (and That's the Truth)”.)

success

The song reached number 1 in the single charts in 28 countries. It was Meat Loaf's first and only number 1 hit, first in Australia on September 4, 1993, where it stayed on the top for 8 weeks and became the best-selling single that year. With 761,200 copies sold and number one for seven weeks, this was also achieved in Great Britain. In response to the success, the single Bat out of Hell was re-released in the UK, this time making it into the top 10 (which it didn't make when it was first released in 1979). That meant Meat Loaf managed the rare feat of placing two singles in the UK's top 10 at the same time. The title was number 1 in the US for five weeks from November 6, 1993. Meat Loaf won a Grammy for best rock singing performance.

Cultural impact

The song's enormous success had a strong impact on pop culture. In his cameo appearance in Spice World as a bus driver of the Spice Girls was required of Meat Loaf to repair the toilet for them. Meat Loaf replied, “Listen, I love these girls and I would do anything for them, but not that.” (English: “Hey man, I love these girls, and I'd do anything for them, but I won 't do that ").

The rock band Evanescence formed when future singer Amy Lee played and sang the song on the piano in a youth camp. Ben Moody saw her and was delighted with her interpretation of this song. Then they began their musical collaboration.

The song was released in the UK in 2005 for an advertising campaign for the soft drink Dr. Pepper used. The spot shows a couple in love together. The boyfriend does things for his girlfriend like buying tampons, folding her underwear in the laundromat ... But when the one after his Dr. Pepper grabs, the song ends with the line "But I won't do that".

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lorraine Crosby - "Mrs. Loud "Music ( Memento from May 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ imdb Dana Patrick
  3. ↑ a b Song Review , www.allmusic.com. (English)
  4. ↑ Kicked Out Of Hell ( Memento from February 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ The Artist's Mind
  6. ↑ Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) Chart placement Germany. GfK Entertainment , accessed on May 24, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) Chart placement Austria. In: Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien, accessed May 24, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) Chart placement Switzerland. In: Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien, accessed May 24, 2018 .
  9. ^ Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) Charthistory United Kingdom. Official Charts Company , accessed May 24, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) Chart placement in the United States. Billboard , accessed March 14, 2018 .
  11. ↑ David Dalton: "To Hell and Back: An Autobiography" (English), ISBN 0-7535-0443-X
  12. ↑ Pearl Looks Forward to Future, 25 Years after Texas Chainsaw Massacre ( Memento from September 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  13. ^ Meat Loaf. (1993). Back into Hell: Meat Loaf & Jim Steinman interview. ( DVD )
  14. ↑ See the lists of 1993 number one hits from Belgium , Germany , Great Britain , the Netherlands , Norway , Austria , Switzerland and the USA .
  15. ↑ a b I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) by Meat Loaf. In: songfacts.com. Accessed August 9, 2019 .
  16. ^ "Love means not having to share your soda" , Tim Nudd, adweek, February 14, 2007