About The Song
“You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)” is a rock song written by Jim Steinman, recorded by Meat Loaf, and released on September 16, 1977, as the first single from his debut album Bat Out of Hell on Epic Records. The song peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 33 on the UK Singles Chart, serving as an early taste of the theatrical style that defined the album. It was initially intended for a musical called Neverland, a Peter Pan-inspired project Steinman worked on with Meat Loaf in 1974-1975, but it found its home on Bat Out of Hell instead.
The recording took place at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York, and House of Music in West Orange, New Jersey, produced by Todd Rundgren with co-production by Steinman. The session featured a large ensemble, including Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg from the E Street Band, Ellen Foley on backing vocals, and a choir from the New York Philharmonic. The track’s intro, a spoken dialogue between Meat Loaf and actress Marcia McBroom, was inspired by dialogue from the 1957 film Peyton Place. Steinman explained in a 1977 interview with Circus magazine, “I wanted it to feel like a scene from a movie, setting the mood for the night.” The song’s dramatic structure, with its operatic build and sax solo by John Parr, took 11 days to record.
The lyrics depict a passionate, almost mythic encounter on a hot summer night, with lines like “I swear it will be warm / There’ll be love there / There’ll be love there.” The song runs 5:04 on the album, though the single was edited to 3:47. Bat Out of Hell, released on October 21, 1977, became one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling over 43 million copies worldwide, with “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth” contributing to its early momentum. The album was recorded with a budget of $500,000, funded by RCA Records after initial rejections from other labels.
The music video, directed by Tom Trbovich, premiered in 1978, featuring Meat Loaf and Foley in a dramatic, candlelit setting that mirrored the song’s intensity. It was later included on the 1999 DVD Meat Loaf: The Video Collection. The song has been covered by artists like Lita Ford with Meat Loaf in 1995 for Live Around the World and a 2008 karaoke version by Zoom Karaoke, per SecondHandSongs. A live version from the 1978 Bat Out of Hell Tour was released on Live at Wembley (1987).
The track was performed on The Midnight Special in 1978, showcasing its live energy with a 14-piece band. Its success helped establish Meat Loaf as a rock icon, with the song’s theatrical flair influencing later works like “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.” The single’s B-side, “For Crying Out Loud,” also gained attention, reinforcing the album’s cohesive narrative.
Video
Lyric
[Spoken Intro: Meat Loaf & Marcia McBroom]
Boy: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?
Girl: Will he offer me his mouth?
Boy: Yes.
Girl: Will he offer me his teeth?
Boy: Yes.
Girl: Will he offer me his jaws?
Boy: Yes.
Girl: Will he offer me his hunger?
Boy: Yes.
Girl: And will he starve without me?
Boy: Yes.
Girl: And does he love me?
Boy: Yes.
Girl: Yes.
Boy: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?
Girl: Yes.
Boy: I bet you say that to all the boys![Verse 1: Meat Loaf]
It was a hot summer night
And the beach was burning
There was fog crawling over the sand
When I listen to your heart
I hear the whole world turning
I see the shooting stars
Falling through your trembling hands[Chorus: Meat Loaf]
You took the words right out of my mouth
Oh, it must have been while you were kissing me
You took the words right out of my mouth
And I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now
And I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now[Verse 2: Meat Loaf]
And I was lying next to you with my head on the ground
And the mouth of a rain forest was calling me up
And the touch of your skin
The smile on your face
The smell of your hair
The taste of the rain[Chorus: Meat Loaf]
You took the words right out of my mouth
Oh, it must have been while you were kissing me
You took the words right out of my mouth
And I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now
And I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now[Bridge: Meat Loaf]
Oh, I was just gonna say something
I was just gonna speak my mind
I was just gonna say something
To let it all hang out[Verse 3: Meat Loaf]
And I swear we were lovers
We were kissing in the rain
And I swear I’d give my life for you
‘Cause I never felt this way for no one[Chorus: Meat Loaf]
You took the words right out of my mouth
Oh, it must have been while you were kissing me
You took the words right out of my mouth
And I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now
And I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now[Outro: Meat Loaf]
And I couldn’t love you more tonight