(This is a playlist of his great words put to music)
Jim Steinman, the greatest lyricist of my lifetime, passed away yesterday at the age of 73, according to Variety.
You might know Jim Steinman’s name, his face, or his voice, but you know his words. That is because he wrote the lyrics to at least one song that you have belted out. His stories can be heard in all of the songs on the three Bat out of Hell albums for Meat Loaf, Total Eclipse of the Heart with Bonnie Tyler, two of the Rock ballads for the movie Street of Fire, and It’s All Coming Back to Me Now for Celine Dion to name a very few.
When I was in fifth grade, I remember the first time I heard Air Supply’s Making Love Out of Nothing At All. I said I want that to be my wedding song. I didn’t know what the lyrics meant, but that didn’t matter. They touched me, and they still touch me. And I still want that song to my first song at the wedding I am never going to have.
Years later, I would hear the coming of age song Paradise By the Dashboard Light sung by Meat Loaf. I dreamed of losing my virginity to it. I didn’t. In fact, I have never sung it in the bedroom. But I have belted it out with plenty of men at bars or in the woods with the help of some alcohol. What woman hasn’t asked a man, “Will you love me? Will you love me forever?…”
Then years later, we wanted to know what is that one thing that Steinman and Meat would not for love.
I loved Steinman’s words so much; I made them an answering machine greeting. I took Meat’s spoken words from the opening of You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth. He says, “On a hot summer would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?” I said seductively, “Will he leave me a message?” He says, “Yes!” “Will he leave me his name?” “Yes!” “Will he leave me his number?” “Yes! On a hot summer night would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?” “Yes!” “I bet you say that to all the boys!” I did!
He didn’t only work with Meat; he also recorded Total Eclipse of the Heart and Holding Out for a Hero with Bonnie Tyler. Let’s be honest; we have all sung Total Eclipse of the Heart with passion at least once. It is not an easy song to sing because Steinman wrote Rock Operas with each one of his songs. That is why Celine Dion’s It’s All Coming Back to Me is her most powerful tune. The movie Streets of Fire was really on fire with his two epic tunes Tonight Is What It Means to Be Young and Nowhere Fast.
You need a voice to sing one of his songs as he intended. It is not an easy thing to do but try today. Let our voices rise him up to heaven. Although, my neighbors have already threatened to call the police if I don’t stop singing his songs.
Steinman might not have children, but his songs are his babies, and we can enjoy them forever. So let’s enjoy them as they are meant to be enjoyed. However, my cat would like ear pods, so she doesn’t have to hear me singing anymore. My neighbors in a four-block radius agree with her.
Thank you, Jim Steinman, for your words. I will always hold them dear to my heart.
If you want to know more about the making of one of the best-selling albums of all time, you can watch the documentary of the making of Bat Out of Hell on Tubi TV. I have had it in my My List for over a year. Today, I am finally watching it.
