I'd Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That) chords by Meat Loaf

From the album Bat Out of Hell 2, the album that brought Meat Loaf back to fame in the '90s, this song was a massive hit and topped the chart around the globe.Unconventionally 12 minutes long. Perceived ambiguity of "that" 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 an anaphoric reference to the particular promise that he made earlier in the same verse. * "But I'll never forget the way you feel right now ..." * "But I'll never forgive myself if we don't go all the way tonight ..." * "But I'll never do it better than I do it with you ..." * "But I'll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life ..." In addition, 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!" Some people misunderstand the lyrics, claiming that the singer never identifies what "that" thing is, which he will not do. Jim Steinman predicted this confusion during production and the confusion is encouraged by the fact that what the lyrics identify as things the singer wouldn't do for love, aren't things it would make any sense for someone to do for love in the first place. How could "forgetting the way you feel right now" be something I do for love? 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." 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." 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 an exophoric reference to a sex act. Meat Loaf says that the question, "What is 'that'?" is one of the most popular questions he is asked. In his 1998 VH1 Storytellers special, he even explained it on stage using a blackboard and a pointing stick. In a 1993 promotional interview, Jim Steinman states that the definition of "that" is fully revealed in the song in each of the several verses in which it is mentioned. It's sort of is a little puzzle and I guess it goes by - but they're all great things. 'I won't stop doing beautiful things and I won't do bad things.' It's very noble. I'm very proud of that song because it's very much like out of the world of Excalibur. To me, it's like Sir Lancelot or something - very noble and chivalrous. That's my favorite song on the record - it's very ambitious. Jimmy Steinman always said, "You know what? Nobody's gonna get it." And he was right. —-Meat Loaf Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.