# Meatloaf's "2 out of 3 Ain't Bad" - A Mix-Up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077 "2004-05-14T05:21:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/21 "2004-05-15T11:43:26Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Hell, 15 years after this album, he leaves us wondering what the heck the Meat won’t do for love. It took me a while to realise what you meant. I always thought it referrred to the line “I won’t llie to you and that’s a fact” I’ll do anything for your love - except lie to you. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/22 "2004-05-15T12:39:15Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I love this song, but I’ve got to say that while he can write a rockin’ tune, Jim Steinman’s lyrics tend to have all the finese of a freight train, and lack in consistancy. Hell, 15 years after this album, he leaves us wondering what the heck the Meat won’t do for love. > > That said, as far as ‘deep’ and ‘meaning’ go, _Two out of Three Ain’t Bad_ is the tops for Steinman. I’d vote for “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Of course, that would be before Michael Crawford ruined it in “Dance of the Vampire.” ---
**Author:** ![janiejungletemptress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@janiejungletemptress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janiejungletemptress)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/23 "2004-05-15T15:35:55Z")
Just need to interject: my dirty little secret is that I am a closet meatloaf fan. I have all of the albums, but they are hidden away solely for my pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/24 "2004-05-15T15:40:48Z")
> [@DoctorJ](#): > > I think the message is clear–there ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box. > > Think about it. Now, being a big Meatloaf fan, I have to ask, WTF is a Coupe de Ville? Or am I being dense? ---
**Author:** ![janiejungletemptress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@janiejungletemptress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janiejungletemptress)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/25 "2004-05-15T15:45:29Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Now, being a big Meatloaf fan, I have to ask, WTF is a Coupe de Ville? Or am I being dense? It is a car [Go Here](http://www.webcom.com/reynen/72caddy.html) ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/26 "2004-05-15T15:48:17Z")
Oohh… Nice. Thanks for that. Which means that the “There ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box” is either: \*really deep \*a load of nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/27 "2004-05-15T18:22:01Z")
I think that, in many cases, Jim Steinman starts with a cliche or figure of speech, thinks “Hmm… THAT would make a great song title,” and then proceeds to build an entire song around that title. And while that CAN be a clever idea, it’s also very easy to get boxed into a corner, and have to FORCE lyrics around a title, whether they really fit neatly or not. I have little doubt that Steinman STARTED with the titles “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth” and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” then tried to write music and lyrics around those titles. as a result, some of the lyrics are bent every which way to make them fit a title that’s been set in stone. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/28 "2004-05-15T19:03:25Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I’d vote for “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Of course, that would be before Michael Crawford ruined it in “Dance of the Vampire.” Oh. . . my. . . god! [hijack] I’ve got a bootleg CD of that show, and it has got to be one of the most painful things I’ve ever listened to! Half of the time I was laughing at all the funny spots Mr. Steinman slipped in previously released material, and the rest of the time I was feeling really bad for the chorus, who were for the most part the only talented people involved with that show at all. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled Meatloaf thread. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/29 "2004-05-15T19:20:14Z")
> [@Angua](#): > > Oohh… Nice. Thanks for that. > > Which means that the “There ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box” is either: > > \*really deep > \*a load of nonsense. It’s neither. Cracker Jacks give away cheap toys\* in their boxes of popcorn, but they don’t give away expensive cars. This fits right in with not drilling for oil on a city street nor finding a diamond on the beach. \*Some of the prizes have become valuable [collector’s items](http://www.hdonline.com/2003/January/19/LFlist2.htm) years later, but they were cheap rubbish when first given. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/30 "2004-05-15T21:59:59Z")
His _best_ song, of course, was the duet “Dead Ringer For Love”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/31 "2004-05-16T01:49:29Z")
> [@](#): > > I think that, in many cases, Jim Steinman starts with a cliche or figure of speech, thinks “Hmm… THAT would make a great song title,” and then proceeds to build an entire song around that title. The fact that Meat has not one, but _two_ albums called ‘Bat Out of Hell’ is strong testimony to your theory… ---
**Author:** ![Peter6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Peter6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter6)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/32 "2015-10-24T03:51:43Z")
I think it is the same woman all through the song. When he was a young man he loved her but she did not love him and she left him. She went to find her “dream” man, her “gold” her “oil” her “ruby” etc. At the start of the song he says “I poured it on and I poured it out I tried to show you just how much I care” But now he is too tired and he is hoarse of explaining how cold she was to him when she left him to find a “better” man. He would see her dating guys and be heartbroken about it and she was giving him the cold shoulder. Now she is back and wants him, possibly because she has finally realized that the ideal man was him all along and no one else wants her now, but the love he had for her was in the past and each day he saw her with someone else it was breaking his heart beyond repair where it got to the point that he could not love her like he once did. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/33 "2015-10-24T04:48:23Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The fact that Meat has not one, but _two_ albums called ‘Bat Out of Hell’ is strong testimony to your theory… And since this was originally posted in 2004, there are now three albums called “Bat Out of Hell.” \* - Yes, I noticed this a zombie, and I know **Marley** has been absent for a while. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/34 "2015-10-24T05:28:15Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Woman: “After a while you’ll forget everything > It was a brief interlude and a midsummer night’s fling > And you’ll see that it’s time to move on” > > Meat: “I won’t do that! No I won’t do that!” > > W: “I know the territory, I’ve been around > It’ll all turn to dust and we’ll all fall down > And sooner or later, you’ll be screwing around” > > M: “I won’t do that! No I won’t do that!” > > I think it’s clear what he means. The problem is that it doesn’t work with the title and the motif of the song: screwing around and moving on don’t stand in opposition to the title, there should be a contradiction of some kind. “I would do anything for love, but I won’t leave you and cheat on you?” That doesn’t work at all. Those are things you’re not supposed to do in the first place, numbskull! So what you’re saying is that Meat Loaf should’ve just outright said he’s never gonna give her up, let her down, run around and desert her, make her cry, say goodbye, or tell a lie and hurt her? ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/35 "2015-10-24T06:06:30Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > IIRC doesn’t he tell a few different stories in the song? > > One where he says it to a woman and one where a woman says it to him? This. [According to songfacts…](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=31578)Jim Steinman, who was Meat Loaf’s songwriter, turned the saying into a song about the elusive nature of love. The song begins with Meat Loaf getting kicked to the curb by his girl, presumably because he won’t tell her he loves her. He makes the case that even though he will never love her, he’s good enough, since after all he does want her and need her, and happy endings are only for fairy tales. We then learn that his commitment issues step from a previous relationship - one with the only woman he will ever love. She once left him with the same explanation: I want you, I need you, but I’ll never love you. ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/36 "2015-10-24T11:33:18Z")
If you’d sent in the box tops for the secret decoder ring, you’d know that **Meat Steinman** had _been thru the desert on a horse with no name_, calling _Wildfire_, _but no one heard at all, not even the chair_. Does that clear it up? ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/37 "2015-10-24T11:39:39Z")
(missed the edit window) “You’ve been cold for me so long” = “When there came a killing frost” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/38 "2015-10-24T12:43:22Z")
Meatloaf isn’t known for perfectly clear lyrics. For example, (without looking up the lyrics) do you know what he’s talking about when he sings “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that”? ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/39 "2015-10-24T13:05:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Meatloaf isn’t known for perfectly clear lyrics. For example, (without looking up the lyrics) do you know what he’s talking about when he sings “I would do anything for love, but I won’t do that”? They mention some of it upthread, but the upshot is–it’s whatever he sang about in the line right before. “But I’ll never forget the way you feel right now, oh no, no way…” “But I’ll never forgive myself if we don’t go all the way tonight…” “But I’ll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life, no way…” “But I’ll never do it better than I do it with you…” ---
**Author:** ![Sdsurfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Sdsurfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sdsurfer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077/40 "2016-02-01T22:04:58Z")
All you guys are reading too much in to it with these lyrics. They are just rhyming phrases and words that sound cool and happen to fit in with the theme of the song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meatloafs-2-out-of-3-aint-bad-a-mix-up/245077.md?page=3)