“I Would Do Anything For Love” Lyrics & Meaning (Meat Loaf)

I’ll be honest with you.

The I Would Do Anything For Love lyrics meaning is pretty straightforward.

It’s just one line in the song that leaves listeners with questions.

You can probably guess the line. It is also part of the extended title: “but I won’t do that.”

What exactly is it that Meat Loaf won’t do for love?

Is it ever explained or does he leave us in the dark?

As Meat Loaf himself explains, the answer lies elsewhere in the lyrics.

Keep reading to learn what it is that Meat Loaf won’t do for love, along with a few other things you will want to know about the singer’s biggest hit. And about his name.

 

I Would Do Anything For Love Lyrics And Meaning

I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That) is a song written by American composer and lyricist Jim Steinman and recorded by rock singer Meat Loaf, featuring Lorraine Crosby.

The song was first released in August 1993 as the first single from Meat Loaf’s sixth studio album, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell.

The single version of the power ballad clocked in at 5:13 in length and was a huge commercial success, going on to reach number one in 28 different countries.

The single, which lasted an epic twelve minutes on the album version, was certified platinum in the United States and became Meat Loaf’s first and only number-one and top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

It also went on to become Meat Loaf’s first and only number-one single in the UK Singles Chart and was the best-selling single of 1993 in the United Kingdom.

Despite its phenomenal success, the song’s lyrics did leave fans a little confused. Let’s take a look at the lyrics in full, before getting into their meaning.

 

I Would Do Anything For Love Lyrics

Intro

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 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
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

Verse 1

And 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
And 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

Pre-Chorus

And maybe I’m crazy
Oh, 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

Chorus

That I would do anything for love
And I’ll be there till the final act
And I would do anything for love
And I’ll take the vow and seal a pact
But I’ll never forgive myself if we don’t go all the way
Tonight
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

Post-Chorus

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

Verse 2

And 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
And 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

Pre-Chorus

And maybe I’m lonely
That’s all I’m qualified to be
There’s just one and only
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

Chorus

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
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

Post-Chorus

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

Verse 3

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
Oh, I would do anything for love
But I won’t do that
No, I won’t do that

Outro

Will you raise me up?
Will you help me down?
Will you help get me right out of this Godforsaken town?
Will you make it all a little less cold?
(I can do that
Oh, I can do that)
Will you hold me sacred
Will you hold me tight
Will 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 no 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?
(Now, I can do that
Ooh now, I can do that)
Will you cater to every fantasy I got?
Will you hose me down with holy water if I get too hot?
Will you take me places I’ve never known?
(Now, I can do that
Oh now, I can do that)
After a while you’ll forget everything
As a brief interlude and a midsummer night’s fling
Then you’ll see that it’s time to move on
(I won’t do that
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
Sooner or later, you’ll be screwing around
(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

 

I Would Do Anything For Love Meaning

The song’s lyrics seem simple enough on first listening, but fans were left wondering what it is that Meat Loaf wouldn’t do for love. The American singer, born Marvin Lee Aday, said during a 1998 performance for VH1’s Storytellers series that he was often asked about that by fans.

Meat Loaf went on to explain that the answer lay within the song’s lyrics, but the arrangement of the lyrics has led to the ambiguity behind their meaning. The song’s choruses finish with the following five lines:

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

Fans were unsure what the ‘that’ in the final two lines meant. While at first it seems to be an ambiguous lyric, the ‘that’ refers back to an antecedent line. For example, let’s take a look at the first chorus in its entirety:

That I would do anything for love
And I’ll be there till the final act
And I would do anything for love
And I’ll take the vow and seal a pact
But I’ll never forgive myself if we don’t go all the way tonight
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

The previous line that Meat Loaf is referring back to here is “But I’ll never forgive myself if we don’t go all the way tonight.” So, essentially, the meaning of the final line of the chorus is “No, I won’t forgive myself if we don’t go all the way tonight.”

 

Additional Questions

Here are the answers to two common questions related to the I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) lyrics meaning. If you have any additional questions, please ask them in the comments below.

Why is Meat Loaf called Meat Loaf?

Meat Loaf’s real name was Marvin Lee Aday and the singer got his nickname when he was born. Speaking to Oprah in 2016, Meat Loaf himself explained that he was “born bright red” and his father called him Meat Loaf because he resembled “nine and a half pounds of ground chuck.”

What won’t Meat Loaf do?

According to the lyrics of I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), Meat Loaf won’t “lie to you”, “forget the way you feel right now”, “forgive myself if we don’t go all the way tonight”, or “do it better than I do it with you.”

 

I Would Do Anything For Love Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

Now you know that Meat Loaf will do anything for love except forgive himself if they don’t go all the way tonight? Are you disappointed in the true I Would Do Anything For Love lyrics meaning? Yeah, me too. But just a little.

To be honest, I was never a big fan of this song, which definitely tempers any disappointment. And Meat Loaf does also mention that he won’t lie to her (whoever “her” is), so I suppose we can also believe that lying is the thing he won’t do for love, if we want to.

We have a whole series of articles like this one on the meanings of famous songs. For another one about an epic love story, check out out breakdown of the A Thousand Years lyrics meaning.

We also have an article about a very different kind of love song by the Irish American singer Hozier: one about an abusive relationship. Read all about the Cherry Wine lyrics meaning here.