Tag: Meatloaf

Meat Loaf – Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad

This is my contribution to Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…A song that includes a number.

From his 1977 album, Bat Out Of Hell. The song reached #11 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart on August 7, 1978.

From Songfacts

“Two out of three ain’t bad” is a trite cliché often used for comic effect. (“How was your date?” “He was tall, handsome, and incredibly boring.” “Well, two out of three ain’t bad.)

Jim Steinman, who was Meat Loaf’s songwriter, turned the saying into a song about the elusive nature of love. The song begins with Meat Loaf getting kicked to the curb by his girl, presumably because he won’t tell her he loves her. He makes the case that even though he will never love her, he’s good enough, since after all he does want her and need her, and happy endings are only for fairy tales.

We then learn that his commitment issues step from a previous relationship – one with the only woman he will ever love. She once left him with the same explanation: I want you, I need you, but I’ll never love you.

Jim Steinman wrote this song after his friend, the actress Mimi Kennedy, suggested that he write a ballad along the lines of the Elvis Presley song “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You.” She was implying that he should write something straightforward and simple, but Steinman doesn’t work that way. He used the phrase, but added a degree of Shakespearean drama that was typical of his work.

In America, this was the second single released from the Bat Out Of Hell album. The first single, “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth,” didn’t chart, but by the time “Two Out of Three” was issued in March 1978, the album was picking up steam and the song rose up the charts, peaking at #11 on July 8.

The single was edited down to 3:58 from the 5:23 album version.

Todd Rundgren produced the Bat Out Of Hell album. On this song, he used the other three members of his band Utopia: Kasim Sulton on bass, Willie Wilcox on drums, and Roger Powell on synthesizer. Rundgren played guitar and also sang backup on this one.
This song got a big boost when Meat Loaf performed it on Saturday Night Live on March 25, 1978.

Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad

Baby we can talk all night
But that ain’t getting us nowhere
I told you everything I possibly can
There’s nothing left inside of here

And maybe you can cry all night
But that’ll never change the way that I feel
The snow is really piling up outside
I wish you wouldn’t make me leave here

I poured it on and I poured it out
I tried to show you just how much I care
I’m tired of words and I’m too hoarse to shout
But you’ve been cold to me so long
I’m crying icicles instead of tears

And all I can do is keep on telling you
I want you
I need you
But there ain’t no way
I’m ever gonna love you
Now don’t be sad
‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad
Now don’t be sad
‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad

You’ll never find your gold on a sandy beach
You’ll never drill for oil on a city street
I know you’re looking for a ruby
In a mountain of rocks
But there ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding
At the bottom of a Cracker Jack box

I can’t lie
I can’t tell you that I’m something I’m not
No matter how I try
I’ll never be able to give you something
Something that I just haven’t got

There’s only one girl that I have ever loved
And that was so many years ago
And though I know I’ll never get her out of my heart
She never loved me back, ooh I know
I remember how she left me on a stormy night
She kissed me and got out of our bed
And though I pleaded and I begged her
Not to walk out that door
She packed her bags and turned right away

And she kept on telling me
She kept on telling me
She kept on telling me
I want you
I need you
But there ain’t no way
I’m ever gonna love you
Now don’t be sad
‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad
I want you
I need you
But there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna love you
Now don’t be sad
‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad
Don’t be sad
‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad

Baby we can talk all night
But that ain’t getting us nowhere

Writer/s: JIM STEINMAN

Meat Loaf – Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through

From his 1994 album, Bat Out of Hell II, Back Into Hell. The song reached #25 on Billboards Hot 100 chart on February 26, 1994. The music video stars a very young Angelina Jolie.

From songfacts.

This song is about the healing power of music, specifically rock and roll: whenever you’re feeling lonely and depressed, you can put on your headphones, turn on the stereo, and it’s there for you. It’s one of the more grandiloquent songs on the subject, likening music to a “gift of the gods” and the drums to a heartbeat.
Jim Steinman wrote this song and released it on his 1981 solo album Bad For Good. Steinman wrote the songs on Meat Loaf’s wildly popular 1977 album Bat Out of Hell, and would later write tracks for Bonnie Tyler and Celine Dion.

This song, and the entire Bad For Good album, was originally slated for Meat Loaf. The tracks were put down using most of the same musicians and studios used on Bat Out of Hell (why mess with success?) but when it came time to record his vocals, Meat Loaf couldn’t sing. The problem seemed to be both mental and physical, but it was dastardly, requiring grueling therapy. With the album ready to go sans vocals, Steinman decided to sing on it himself, although on this track he used a Canadian singer named Rory Dodd, who provided backing on Bat Out of Hell and would later do the “turn around, bright eyes” part on “Total Eclipse Of The Heart,” as lead vocalist.

“Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through” was the only hit from the album, reaching #32 in the US. It was also Steinman’s only Hot 100 entry as a solo artist.

When Steinman and Meat Loaf teamed up for the 1993 album Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell, it was recorded as intended, with Loaf on lead. This rendition was more successful, making #13 US and also charting in the UK at #11.

The video was directed by Michael Bay, who did some of Meat Loaf’s videos before directing the movies Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and Transformers. Angelina Jolie stars in the video as a young girl who runs away from home.

 

Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through

You can’t run away forever,
But there’s nothing wrong with getting a good head start
You want to shut out the night
You want to shut down the sun
You want to shut away the pieces of a broken heart
Think of how we’d lay down together
We’d be listening to the radio so loud and so strong
Every golden nugget coming like a gift of the gods
Someone must have blessed us when he gave us those songs
I treasure your love
I never want to lose it
You’ve been through the fires of hell
And I know you’ve got the ashes to prove it
I treasure your love
I want to show you how to use it
You’ve been through a lot of pain in the dirt
And I know you’ve got the scars to prove it
Remember everything that I told you
And I’m telling you again that it’s true
When you’re alone and afraid
And you’re completely amazed
To find there’s nothing anybody can do
Keep on believing
And you’ll discover baby
There’s always something magic
There’s always something new
And when you really really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through
The beat is yours forever
The beat is always true
And when you really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through….for you…
Once upon a time was a backbeat
Once upon a time all the chords came to life
And the angels had guitars even before they had wings
If you hold onto a chorus you can get through the night
I treasure your love
I never want to lose it
You’ve been through the fires of hell
And I know you’ve got the ashes to prove it
I treasure you love
I want to show you how to use it
You’ve been through a lot of pain in the dirt
And I know you’ve got the scars to prove it
Remember everything that I told you
And I’m telling you again that it’s true
You’re never alone cause you can put on the phones
And let the drummer tell your heart what to do
Keep on believing
And you’ll discover baby
There’s always something magic
There’s always something new
And when you really really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through
The beat is yours forever
The beat is always true
And when you really really need it the most
That’s when rock and roll dreams come through…for you…
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jim Steinman