Trivia: What wouldn’t Meatloaf do for love?

Okay, this is totally not connected to anything in Muntinlupa, Paranaque or Las Pinas but we feel we need to let people know about this.

What won’t Meatloaf do in his song “I Would Do Anything for Love”?

We dug up (okay, googled it!) some information and here is what we found:

According to Wikipedia:

Each verse mentions two things that he would do for love, followed by one thing that he will not do. The title phrase repetition reasserts that he “won’t do that” previously stated one thing. Each mention of “that” is a reference to the particular promise that he made earlier in the same verse.^[7] For example, one such line is “But I’ll never forget the way you feel right now …”^[7] In addition, at the song’s conclusion, the female vocalist predicts two other things that he will do: “You’ll see that it’s time to move on” and “You’ll be screwing around”. To both of these, he emphatically responds, “I won’t do that!”

And I would do anything for love, I’d run right into hell and back
I would do anything for love, I’ll never lie to you (this is what he won’t do for this verse) and that’s a fact
But I’ll never forget the way you feel right now, oh no, no way
And I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that, I won’t do that
Anything for love, oh I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that, oh I won’t do that

Some days it don’t come easy, and some days it don’t come hard
Some days it don’t come at all, and these are the days that never end
Some nights you’re breathing fire, and some nights you’re carved in ice
Some nights you’re like nothing I’ve ever seen before or will again
Maybe I’m crazy, but it’s crazy and it’s true
I know you can save me, no one else can save me now but you

As long as the planets are turning, as long as the stars are burning
As long as your dreams are coming true, you better believe it
That I would do anything for love, and I’ll be there til the final act
I would do anything for love, and I’ll take a vow and seal a pact
But I’ll never forgive myself if we don’t go all the way tonight (this is what he won’t do here in this verse)
And I would do anything for love, oh I would do anything for love
Oh I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that, no I won’t do that

I would do anything for love, anything you’ve been dreaming of
But I just won’t do that

Some days I pray for silence, and some days I pray for soul
Some days I just pray to the God of sex and drums and rock ’n roll
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
Maybe I’m lonely and that’s all I’m qualified to be
There’s just one and only, the one and only promise I can keep

As long as the wheels are turning, as long as the fires are burning
As long as your prayers are coming true, you better believe it
That I would do anything for love, and you know it’s true and that’s a fact
I would do anything for love, and there’ll never be no turning back
But I’ll never do it better than I do it with you, so long, so long (is this what he won’t do?)
And I would do anything for love, oh I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that, no no no I won’t do that
I would do anything for love, anything you’ve been dreaming of
But I just won’t do that

But I’ll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life, no way
And I would do anything for love, oh I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love
But I won’t do that
No I won’t do that

Will you raise me up, will you help me down?
Will you get me right out of this godforsaken town?
Will you make it all a little less cold?
I can do that! I can do that!

Will you hold me sacred? will you hold me tight?
Can you colorize my life, I’m so sick of black and white?
Can you make it all a little less old?
I can do that! oh oh, now I can do that!
Will you make me some magic, with your own two hands?
Can you build an emerald city with these grains of sand?
Can you give me something I can take home?
I can do that! oh oh now, I can do that!

Will you cater to every fantasy I got?
Will ya hose me down with holy water, if I get too hot?
Will you take me places I’ve never known?
I can do that! oh oh now, I can do that!
After a while you’ll forget everything
It was a brief interlude and a midsummer night’s fling
And you’ll see that it’s time to move on
I won’t do that! no I won’t do that!

I know the territory, I’ve been around
It’ll all turn to dust and we’ll all fall down
And sooner or later, you’ll be screwing around (he won’t do this)
I won’t do that! no I won’t do that!
Anything for love, oh I would do anything for love
I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that, no I won’t do that

Some people misunderstand the lyrics, claiming that the singer never identifies what “that” thing is, which he will not do.^[8] Steinman predicted this confusion during production.^[9] An early episode of the VH1 program Pop-up Video made this claim at the end of the song’s video: “Exactly what Meat Loaf won’t do for love remains a mystery to this day.”^[10] A reviewer writing for Allmusic commented that “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.”^[5] The reviewer concludes that the mystery is revealed during the closing stages of the song, incorrectly implying that all references of “that” refer to the female vocalist’s predictions at the end. Others assume that “that” is a reference to a sex act.^[11] Scholar Anne Bader interprets this as providing “an enlightening example of how listeners project their own thoughts, values, and concerns onto the meaning of the song with misconstrued lyrics.”^[3]

Although Meat Loaf believed that the lyrics were unambiguous, the singer recalls that Steinman predicted that they would cause confusion.^[12] Meat Loaf says that the question, “What is ‘that’?” is one of the most popular questions he is asked.^[11] In his 1998 VH1 Storytellers special, he even explained it on stage using a blackboard and a pointing stick.^[7] In a 1993 promotional interview, Steinman states that the definition of “that” is fully revealed in the song in each of the several verses in which it is mentioned.

There. Those are the things that he won’t do. Feel free to scrutinize the song more to find out other things he won’t do. Be our guest:)

Some useful trivia for you guys:)