Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell

About The Song

In 1995, Steinman trademarked the title “Bat Out of Hell” and was later sued by Meat Loaf in 2006, who wanted to use it as the title of his 2006 album, and third part of the trilogy, Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose. Though Steinman worked with Meat Loaf in 1993 for Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, also writing the No. 1 hit “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That),” producer Desmond Child joined Meat Loaf for the final Bat Out of Hell release in 2006.

Steinman and Meat Loaf later buried their dispute and remained friends, up until Steinman’s death in 2021. Meat Loaf even used seven of Steinman’s songs on Bat Out of Hell III. Steinman even called Meat Loaf his “greatest muse,” and described him as “a rock ’n’ roll giant with an operatic voice.”

Cinematic from its very beginning, “Bat Out of Hell” builds around Meat Loaf’s vocals, which come in nearly two minutes into the song. Inspired by the Shangri-Las 1965 motorcycle tragedy “Leader of the Pack,” some elements of the song were also pulled from the opening scene of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller Psycho, as the viewer peers down a valley and sees the city lights.

Singing around tragedy, danger, and forbidden love, “Bat Out of Hell” moves swiftly through its storyline.

At first, Todd Rundgren, who produced Bat Out of Hell, was not a fan of the structure of the title track but was coaxed by Steinman into playing guitar and even threw in the motorcycle sounds mid-way into the song.

Originally written for Steinman’s UK stage production of Neverland, a futuristic, rock take on Peter Pan when Bat Out of Hell debuted in 1977, the album also featured two additional song from the play, including “All Revved Up with No Place to Go” and “Heaven Can Wait.”

Upon its release, Bat Out of Hell sold more than 43 million copies and was certified 14 times platinum by the RIAA. Though “Bat Out of Hell” was never released as a single in the U.S., it had some of the first play on radio, despite its nine minute-10 second run time.

Video

Lyrics

The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling
Way down in the valley tonight.
There’s a man in the shadows with a gun in his eye
And a blade shining, oh, so bright.
There’s evil in the air and there’s thunder in sky,
And a killer’s on the bloodshot streets.
Oh, and down in the tunnel where the deadly are rising,
Oh, I swear I saw a young boy down in the gutter,
He was starting to foam in the heat.

Oh, baby, you’re the only thing in this whole world,
That’s pure and good and right.
And wherever you are and wherever you go,
There’s always gonna be some light.
But I gotta get out,
I gotta break it out now,
Before the final crack of dawn.
So we gotta make the most of our one night together.
When it’s over you know,
We’ll both be so alone.

Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone when the morning comes.
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone-gone-gone.
Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone when the morning comes.
But when the day is done, and the sun goes down,
And the moonlight’s shining through,
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven,
I’ll come crawling on back to you.

I’m gonna hit the highway like a battering ram
On a silver black phantom bike.
When the metal is hot and the engine is hungry,
And we’re all about to see the light.
Nothing ever grows in this rotting old hole.
And everything is stunted and lost.
And nothing really rocks
And nothing really rolls
And nothing’s ever worth the cost.

And I know that I’m damned if I never get out,
And maybe I’m damned if I do,
But with every other beat I’ve got left in my heart,
You know I’d rather be damned with you.
Well, if I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned
Dancing through the night with you.
Well, if I gotta be damned you know I wanna be damned—
Gotta be damned, you know I wanna be damned—
Gotta be damned, you know I wanna be damned
Dancing through the night—
Dancing through the night—
Dancing through the night with you.

Oh, baby, you’re the only thing in this whole world,
That’s pure and good and right.
And wherever you are and wherever you go,
There’s always gonna be some light.
But I gotta get out,
I gotta break it out now,
Before the final crack of dawn.
So we gotta make the most of our one night together.
When it’s over you know
We’ll both be so alone.

Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone when the morning comes.
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone gone gone.
Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone when the morning comes.
But when the day is done and the sun goes down,
And the moonlight’s shining through,
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven,
I’ll come crawling on back to you.
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven,
I’ll come crawling on back to you.

I can see myself tearing up the road
Faster than any other boy has ever gone.
And my skin is raw but my soul is ripe.
No one’s gonna stop me now,
I’m gonna make my escape.
But I can’t stop thinking of you,
And I never see the sudden curve until it’s way too late.

And I never see the sudden curve ’til it’s way too late.

Then I’m dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun.
Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike.
And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell.
And the last thing I see is my heart
Still beating,
Breaking out of my body and flying away,
Like a bat out of hell.

Then I’m dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun.
Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike.
And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell.
And the last thing I see is my heart
Still beating, still beating,
Breaking out of my body and flying away,
Like a bat out of hell.
Like a bat out of hell.
Like a bat out of hell.
Oh, like a bat out of hell!
Like a bat out of hell!
Like a bat out of hell!