Song of the Day 5/22: Meat Loaf, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”

For more than 10 years Republicans have done anything for Trump, but sign off on a crooked deal to give him a $1.7 billion slush fund? They won’t do that, at least not yet – though rather than give the White House a flat no, they skedaddled into recess.

I don’t harbor much hope their resolve will hold, but it’s a signal that their trust in Trump isn’t total anymore. Either way, it’s far from the kind of bold declaration that would mark a true repudiation of fascism. They’d need someone braver than John Thune to do that. Meat Loaf, alas, is no longer available.

This was the most bombastic single Meat Loaf and songwriter/producer Jim Steinman ever recorded, which is saying something. It was also their most successful, reaching No. 1 in more than a dozen countries and topping the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks in 1993. The record company spared no expense on the video, hiring Michael Bay to direct its Beauty and the Beast-themed teleplay on a four-day shoot in Los Angeles. Mr. Loaf’s makeup took two hours to apply.

Long as the single is – it held the record for longest in UK history for a while – that nearly 8-minute version was chopped down from the 12-minute album track. It is, incredibly, even more bombastic.

If you’re wondering what it is he won’t do, you’re not alone, and get your mind out of the gutter. You have to listen closely to notice that each time he sings the line, it follows the declaration of something he won’t do. So the pronoun “that” refers back each time to the preceding phrase. The top comment on this video has compiled a helpful list of all the things he won’t do – never forget the way she feels, never stop dreaming about her, etc. In other words, he’s promising not to do things she doesn’t want him to do. Just thought I’d clear that up.