You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth
"You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Side-A label of U.S. 7-inch vinyl single | ||||
Single by Meat Loaf | ||||
from the album Bat Out of Hell | ||||
B-side | "For Crying Out Loud" | |||
Released | October 1977 (US)
| |||
Recorded | 1976 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 4:15 (w/o spoken intro) 5:04 (w/ spoken intro) | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jim Steinman | |||
Producer(s) | Todd Rundgren | |||
Meat Loaf singles chronology | ||||
|
"You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" (also known as "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)") is the first solo single by the American singer Meat Loaf, released in 1977. It is a track from his album Bat Out of Hell, written by Jim Steinman.[2]
Background[]
The song begins with a spoken word introduction by Jim Steinman and actress Marcia McClain:
- 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: Again, 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.
Steve Popovich reportedly listened to the intro to the song and it became a key factor of his accepting Bat Out of Hell for Cleveland International Records.
According to his autobiography, Meat Loaf asked Jim Steinman to write a song that was not 15 or 20 minutes long, and, in Meat Loaf's words, a "pop song." His autobiography also dates the writing of the song to 1975, the song reportedly being a key factor in Meat Loaf and Steinman deciding to do an album together.
The song was the first single released from the album, with an edit of "For Crying Out Loud" as the B-side. The record peaked at No. 73 in the Record World singles chart, but only reached No. 97 in Cash Box and didn't appear at all in Billboard Hot 100. Billboard reviewed the single, finding the guitar introduction to be energetic, the beat to be "catchy" and the vocal performance to be somewhat similar to Bruce Springsteen.[3] Billboard also commented on how occasional pauses in the instruments allow the "infectious" vocals to be highlighted.[3] Following the success of the next two singles, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" and "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", the song was re-released in October 1978 with "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" as the B-side. This issue peaked at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, over a year after the first release of the song.
Music video[]
The video, as with "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", "Paradise by the Dashboard Light", and the others in the "Bat out of Hell" set, was filmed on a soundstage as if it were a live performance, with Meat Loaf in his signature suspenders, ripped formal shirt, and bearing a red scarf.
Personnel[]
- Meat Loaf - lead vocals, percussion (as Marvin Lee)
- Todd Rundgren - guitar, percussion, backing vocals
- Kasim Sultan - bass guitar
- Roy Bittan - piano, keyboards
- Jim Steinman - keyboards, percussion, male dialogue intro
- Roger Powell - synthesizer
- Edgar Winter - saxophone
- Max Weinberg - drums
- Rory Dodd, Ellen Foley - additional backing vocals
- Marcia McClain - female dialogue intro
Charts and certifications[]
Weekly charts[]
|
Year-end charts[]
Certifications[]
|
References[]
- ^ "Meat Loaf singles".
- ^ Angelina Jolie - The Lightning Star - Page 200 1471089355 C. Duthel "... songs, "Bat Out Of Hell," "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," "You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth" and "Two out of Three Ain't Bad. ... Meat Loaf's final show in New York was Gower Champion's Rockabye Hamlet, a Hamlet musical."
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. October 22, 1977. p. 90. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Whitburn, Joel (2015). The Comparison Book. Menonomee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-89820-213-7.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Meat Loaf - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)". ultratop.be. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
- ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada", Collectionscanada.gc.ca, February 10, 1979 Missing or empty
|url=
(help) - ^ Jump up to: a b "Meat Loaf - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)". Charts.nz. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
- ^ "Meat Loaf - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
- ^ "Meat Loaf". www.officialcharts.com. Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "End of Year Charts 1978". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
- ^ "British single certifications – Meat Loaf – You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 August 2019.Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
External links[]
- 1977 debut singles
- Meat Loaf songs
- Songs written by Jim Steinman
- Song recordings produced by Todd Rundgren
- Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements
- 1977 songs
- Epic Records singles