Album: Bat Out Of Hell (1977)

Charted: 8

License This Song 

• 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 the sky
  And a killer's on the bloodshot streets
  And down in the tunnels 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
  
  Well 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 want to be damned
  Dancing through the night with you
  Well, if I gotta be damned, you know I want to be damned
  Gotta be damned, you know I want to be damned
  Gotta be damned, you know I want to 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 Writer/s: Jim Steinman
  Publisher: Round Hill
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 40

• Dee from Florida UsaRIP Jim Steinman (1947-2021)
• David Hutchinson from Beltsville, Md.The Bruce Springsteen connection is the fact that Steinman used half of his band recording some of this material. Specially Dashboard!!!
• T from Vlaardingen, The NetherlandsThis song was featured in our 'literature/fiction appreciation'-lessons in what Americans would call high school. It's lyrics were combined with parts of Lord of the Rings' passage of Gandalf falling in the abyss. Although this song has nothing to do with lotr, both share the same kind of fatalism.
  I can't hear this song without thinking of the phrase 'Run, you fools'. :)
• Crüe from Chelmsford, United KingdomAmazing song. Always.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyGreat song from a great album, one of the few CDs I have that I don't program out a a single track, it's great from start to finish...
• Jonathan from Parsippany, NjHELP HELP HELP !!! Does anyone know where to find the sheet music for the FULL INTRO TO BAT OUT OF HELL??? I've tried every legitimate outlet I know and have found zip.
• Jon from Scotland, United Kingdom@ Stu, Philadelphia: Jim Steinman said on an interview with the Sky Arts channel that he was a big fan of "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and acknowledges that had an influence on his track Bat Out Of Hell.
  
  Although unlikely to be recorded, Jim Steinman still holds up hope for the fourth and final installment of the "Bat Out Of Hell" series which he'd like to title "Bat Out Of Hell IV: The Final Bat". Meat Loaf, on the other hand, is adamant the "Bat Out Of Hell" journey ended with "The Monster Is Loose".
  
  
• Richard from Invercargill, New ZealandSkeletim, USA, NJ may not be too far off the mark because I remember reading in Meat Loaf's autobio that all the songs that Stienman writes go into this 'super-musical' called Neverland.
• Paul from Boston, MaThe exact length is actually 9:59. This corresponds to the chapter and verse from the book of Lividicus "seek not the shortest distance to the truth, but hasten thy journey to the light lest ye never escape the fire of hell" Jim Stienman was a devout Catholic.
• Jon from Scotland, United KingdomBelieve it or not, "Bat Out Of Hell" and the album of the same name was supposed to be a country music project.
• Gary from Blackwood, NjI've heard this song more times than I can count, and it always blows me away. I love it. But I swear, the line, "When the metal is hot and the engine is hungry" sounds like, "When the metal is hot and the engine is 'holy'". The next line is,
  "And we're all about to see the light", can be interpreted as "we're all about to die, about to meet a higher power, etc.", which is likely a "holy" experience, if you believe in a higher power. I know what the lyrics are, as printed on the album/CD jacket because I own it. Maybe I'm wrong, but listen to him sing it a few or several times. If it was a misprint on the jacket, there may have been so many copies printed & sold before the error was noticed that they just decided to leave it as is.
  
• T from Tucson, AzI have been a fan from the beginning and this song is about as raw and energetic as it gets. If this song doesn't get your heart pumping you just might be dead. I hope Meat Loaf goes on for another 30 years.
• Stu from Philly, PaThe piano behind the first verse sounds almost EXACTLY like the first verse in Springsteen's "Thunder Road".
  
  Either way, Bat Out Of Hell is one of my absolute favorite songs, and favorite albums as well.
  
  My bride walked down the aisle to a shortened, instrumental version i recorded of "Heavan Can Wait".
  
  I LOVE MEAT LOAF!! :)
  
  My band Raised On Radio does a good rendition of Paradise too, 9 minutes be damned :)
• Roman from Barrie, OnSaw Meat Loaf on a double bill concert with Electric Light Orchestra. thought it was innovative and wild that he drove on stage on a Harley, and then for their show ELO arrived in their white flying saucer.......
• Rich from Bellevue, WaTom: One reason this sounds a bit like Springsteen is because the piano player is Roy Bittan and the drummer is Max Weinberg, both of the E Street Band.
• Joe from East Rockaway, Ny"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." that chorus has got to hit home with many people in love, people mis judge love and think to little of it in my opinion and they don't realise how good it can be.
  
• Skeletim from Usa, NjThis song is about Peter Pan promising to visit Wendy every night but returning to Neverland (San Fernando Valley) every morning. "Nothing ever grows in this rotten old hole and everything is stunted and lost" because the lost boys never grow old in Neverland. If he leaves too far away from the radiation that mutated his genes, then he will grow old. Hence why he is damned if he never gets out to see Wendy, but he is also damned if he does.
• David from Youngstown, OhThis is a great song. The album was a tremendous success in the United States even though dozens of labels rejected it. But it's considered an all-time great in Australia and England, which is shown by many of the comments here coming from people from those two countries.
• David from Grimsby, EnglandSteinman was going to sing it but lost his voice after booking the studio. Money was tight so step in Marvin Adey and the rest is history. Check out Steinmans Bad for good album if you like Bat out of Hell.
• Tom from East Lyme, CtDoes anyone else think this song sounds a LOT like Bruce Springsteen?
• Tracey from Johannesburg, South AfricaJust a brillient song....
• Ed from Ottawa, CanadaThis stretches to over 12 minutes when performed live and also has female back-up vocals when played live.
• Clayton from Mons, BelgiumThis is an amazing song, and anyone who really likes this song should listen to Heaven Can Wait, i am a romantic, and that song always puts me in a very sensual mood.
• Damian from Melbourne, AustraliaGrea song! The album sells up to 200,000 copies a year!
• Will from York, EnglandThe album is the top selling Rock album in the UK in the 70s. Followed by BooH II.
• Elie from The U.k, EnglandThis song is great I like to listen to it while I am in the car driving and going fast but sometimes I go crazy and almost crash you know because I get too much into the song.
• The Darkness Rock from Millmerran, AustraliaOk, Ok I'm a Darkness, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith and Guns n Roses fan. But in this part of my Rock n Roll heart I'm a Meat Loaf fan. I don't know why I just like him. Just the titles of his songs. You know Bat out of Hell. You took the words right out of my mouth. Paradise by Dashboard Light.
• Alexio from Haslemere, EnglandAn incredible intense rock and roll song made perfect lol, he is an incredible singer as well and his guitar playing skills are very top notch, sad he never released many more like this.
• Susan from San Francisco, CaI'm 65 and absolutely no music revs my engine like this song! The driving intensity is downright sexual.
• Sarah from Spur, TxI love this song its an awesome song and one of the few songs i can relate to as a racer...and this song is how i came to have nick name ( the bat out of hell)...
• Rodin from Brighton, EnglandI love this song, it made me go back with my ex-wife, then we had a kid, then we broke up. Well I can thank this song for the good parts and blame her for the bad :P
• Chris from Stuttgart, GermanyI think he most special thing about this song is the "singing guitar" (i think it's the best impression for the sound that appears at 8:59). This is such a great sound that everytime I hear that song I go crazy!
• Sandra from New York, NyWhen I feel my age, I put on this song - awesome
• Jack from Annan, ScotlandGreat song, brilliant album too....but the sequel, "Bat 2: Back Into Hell" was a major disappointment.
• Madeline from Melbourne, AustraliaThis song is played at every party I've gone to. It's a classic but its bloody long
• Aj from Cleveland, GaThis was on 1977's Bat Out Of Hell album. By far Meatloaf's greatest work.
• James from Billingham, EnglandSteinman's inspiration for writing this song actually came from the film pyscho. Meat tells us this on the Story Tellers DVD. Another fact from that is that the song was originally only half the length it was until meat got hold of it and persuaded Steinman to add more.
• Josh from Plainview, NyThe exact length is 9:52
• Shana from Pembroke, CanadaAwesome song...super long thjo..anyone know the exact length?
• Aj from Ontario, CanadaAn awesome song. I'm a ski racer, so that involves pushing ourselves to always go faster. Anyways, every year I pick a theme song to sing while I'm waiting for my turn to race. As soon as I heard this song, I knew what I'd be singing this year!

More Songfacts:

For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)AC/DC

AC/DC's "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" is titled after a phrase Roman gladiators said heading into battle: "We who are about to die salute you."

ThrillerMichael Jackson

Vincent Price did the spooky narration on "Thriller." He was paid a flat fee of $20,000, turning down a percentage of the royalties that would have paid him far more.

Against The WindBob Seger

Bob Seger's "Against The Wind" has the famous mind-bending line, "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." Seger was going to cut it, but his Eagles buddies Glenn Frey and Don Henley told him it was the best line in the song.

Mr. Blue SkyElectric Light Orchestra

It was never a big hit, but the uplifting "Mr. Blue Sky" has endured as Electric Light Orchestra's most popular song. Group leader Jeff Lynne wrote it when after two weeks of gloomy weather, the clouds parted to reveal a beautiful day.

Pink CadillacBruce Springsteen

"Pink Cadillac" was a B-side for Bruce Springsteen in 1984, but after Aretha Franklin sang about pink Cadillacs on "Freeway Of Love" the following year, Natalie Cole covered the song and had a hit with it in 1988.

On The FloorJennifer Lopez

"On The Floor" by Jennifer Lopez samples the 1989 song "Lambada," which you might remember is about "The Forbidden Dance."

Editor's Picks

Who Did It First?Music Quiz

Do you know who recorded the original versions of these ten hit songs?

Carl SturkenSongwriter Interviews

Hitmaker Carl Sturken on writing and producing for Rihanna, 'N Sync, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Donny Osmond, Shakira and Karyn White.

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Rob Halford of Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford dives into some of his Judas Priest lyrics, talking about his most personal songs and the message behind "You've Got Another Thing Comin'."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.