I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)
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"I'd Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That)" is a song recorded by Meat Loaf. It was composed and entirely written by Jim Steinman. The song reached number one in twenty-eight countries, the first being Australia on September 4, 1993. It stayed at number one for seven weeks in the United Kingdom.
The song was released in 1993 as the first single from Meat Loaf's album Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell. The single was certified platinum in the United States and became Meat Loaf's first (and only, by 2005) number-one single on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and on the UK singles chart.
The single features a female vocalist who was credited only as "Mrs. Loud." Mrs. Loud was later identified as Lorraine Crosby [1], a performer from North East England who regularly performs at holiday camps and social clubs.
Some have found the lyrics of the song cryptic and claim that the singer never identifies what the "that" is that he is unwilling to do. [2] [3] Although some people assume that "that" is an exophoric reference to a sex act, it is actually an anaphoric reference to the varying activities specified as antecedents in the lyric that the singer says that he won't do.
- "I'll never forget the way you feel right now ..."
- "I'll never forgive myself if we don't go all the way tonight ..."
- "I'll never do it better than I do it with you ..."
- "I'll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life ..."
In addition, the female vocalist identifies two other things that the lead singer denies that he will do: "You'll see that it's time to move on" and "You'll be screwing around." To both of these, the lead singer emphatically responds, "I won't do that! No, I won't do that!"
The phrase does appear as an exophoric reference in a song on the Steinman-produced album Faster Than the Speed of Night, where it is a piece of overheard conversation in a bar.
Music video
The video, based on Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera, is directed by Michael Bay, who also directed the videos for "Objects in the Rear View Mirror" and "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through" from the same album. It is the abridged seven minute single version, rather than the twelve minute (11:58) album version. The actress in the video is Dana Patrick, who is also featured in the video for "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)" from the Welcome to the Neighborhood album. The cinematographer is Daniel Pearl, who filmed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1973.
The video took four days to shoot, and it took up to two hours to apply Meat Loaf's "Beast" make-up.
Dr Pepper
The song is featured in a 2005 advertising campaign for Dr Pepper in the United States. The ad shows two lovers together. The boyfriend is prepared to buy tampons for his girlfriend, go to yoga classes with her, and fold her lingerie at the laundromat. The scene is romantic until the woman reaches for her boyfriend's Dr Pepper. At this point, the boyfriend runs out of the house. He would do anything for love...except give up his Dr Pepper. In this case, "that" is an exophora to the Dr Pepper, rather than an anaphoric reference to the varying activities in the song.
Trivia
The rock band Evanescence formed when soon-to-be lead singer Amy Lee was playing and singing the song on piano at a youth camp. Ben Moody saw her and was enthused by her rendition of the song. They subsequently began their musical collaboration.
References
- Meat Loaf with David Dalton (2000) To Hell and Back: An Autobiography London: Virgin Publishing. ISBN 075350443
- DVD: VH1 Storytellers
- DVD: Meat Loaf Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, including commentary track
- Adweek - Dr. Pepper advert