Peak
39
Weeks
10
Score
873
Chart Year
1978
Meat Loaf convinced the label to give him US$30,000 (equivalent to about $160,000 in 2023) to produce films of live-on-soundstage performances of three of the songs from Bat Out of Hell, including "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". Ellen Foley, who sang on the album, declined to be on the Bat Out Of Hell tour, and Karla DeVito assumed live performance responsibilities, so the music video was created by syncing the video of DeVito's performance to the audio of Foley's vocals.[20] 35mm prints of these films were distributed to movie theaters holding midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as a short subject to play before the feature (in which Meat Loaf appeared).[21] Very few of these prints are still extant and/or in playable condition. The Old Grey Whistle Test broadcast the Bat Out of Hell promotional film, and audience response was such that they showed the film again the following week. Meat Loaf was invited to perform live on the show with the Neverland Express, and he and Karla DeVito's February, 1978 performance of "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" would become one of the show's benchmark performances.[22] The video became a staple on MTV in the network's early years. Rundgren speculated in a 2017 Billboard interview that the length of the song's video (the longest music video available at the time) made it ideal for VJs to play when they needed extra time between songs.[23] In the original video as released to television and in 35mm prints, the male/female "Hot Summer Night" prologue from "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" was spoken live by Jim Steinman and Karla DeVito before the song performance. On the Hits Out of Hell music video compilation, the prologue was removed and spliced in front of the video for "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth", ostensibly to properly replicate the album Bat Out of Hell, and the video for "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" goes right into the performance.
"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is a song written by Jim Steinman. It was released in 1977 on the album Bat Out of Hell, with vocals by the American musician Meat Loaf alongside Ellen Foley. An uncommonly long song for a single, it has become a staple of classic rock radio and has been described as the "greatest rock duet".
[Boy:] Well I remember every little thing As if it happened only yesterday Parking by the lake And there was not another car in sight And I never had a girl Looking any better than you did And all the kids at school They were wishing they were me that night And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight It never felt so good, it never felt so right And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife C'mon, hold on tight Well, c'mon, hold on tight Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night I can see paradise by the dashboard light [Girl:] Ain't no doubt about it we were doubly blessed 'Cause we were barely seventeen and we were barely dressed [Both:] Ain't no doubt about it Baby, got to go out and shout it Ain't no doubt about it We were doubly blessed [Boy:] 'Cause we were barely seventeen And we were barely dressed Baby, don't you hear my heart You got it drowning out the radio I've been waiting so long For you to come along and have some fun Well, I gotta let you know No, you're never gonna regret it So open up your eyes I got a big surprise It'll feel all right Well, I wanna make your motor run And now our bodies are, oh, so close and tight It never felt so good, it never felt so right And we're glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife Glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife C'mon, hold on tight Well, c'mon, hold on tight [Both:] Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night I can see paradise by the dashboard light Though it's cold and lonely in the deep dark night Paradise by the dashboard light You got to do what you can And let Mother Nature do the rest Ain't no doubt about it We were doubly blessed 'Cause we were barely seventeen And we were barely [4x] We're gonna go all the way tonight We're gonna go all the way And tonight's the night [Radio Broadcast:] OK, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker going here Two down, nobody on, no score, bottom of the ninth There's the wind-up, and there it is A line shot up the middle, look at him go This boy can really fly He's rounding first and really turning it on now He's not letting up at all, he's gonna try for second The ball is bobbled out in the center And here comes the throw and what a throw He's gonna slide in head first Here he comes, he's out No, wait, safe, safe at second base This kid really makes things happen out there Batter steps up to the plate Here's the pitch, he's going And what a jump he's got He's trying for third Here's the throw It's in the dirt, safe at third Holy cow, stolen base He's taking a pretty big lead out there Almost daring them to pick him off The pitcher glances over, winds-up and it's bunted Bunted down the third base line The suicide squeeze is on Here he comes, squeeze play, it's gonna be close Here's the throw, here's the play at the plate Holy cow, I think he's gonna make it [Girl:] Stop right there I gotta know right now Before we go any further Do you love me? Will you love me forever? Do you need me? Will you never leave me? Will you make me so happy For the rest of my life? Will you take me away Will you make me your wife? Do you love me? Will you love me forever? Do you need me? Will you never leave me? Will you make me so happy For the rest of my life? Will you take me away And will you make me your wife? I gotta know right now Before we go any further Do you love me? Will you love me forever? [Boy:] Let me sleep on it Baby, baby, let me sleep on it Let me sleep on it I'll give you an answer in the morning [Both:] Let me sleep on it Baby, baby, let me sleep on it Let me sleep on it I'll give you an answer in the morning Let me sleep on it Baby, baby, let me sleep on it Let me sleep on it I'll give you an answer in the morning [Girl:] I gotta know right now Do you love me? Will you love me forever? Do you need me? Will you never leave me? Will you make me so happy For the rest of my life? Will you take me away Will you make me your wife? I gotta know right now Before we go any further Do you love me? Will you love me forever? What's it gonna be, boy? Come on. I can wait all night What's it gonna be, boy? Yes or no? What's it gonna be, boy? Yes or no? [Boy:] Let me sleep on it Baby, baby, let me sleep on it Well, let me sleep on it I'll give you an answer in the morning [Girl:] I gotta know right now Do you love me Will you love me forever Do you need me Will you never leave me Will you make me so happy For the rest of my life Will you take me away Will you make me your wife I gotta know right now Before we go any further Do you love me Will you love me forever [Both:] Let me sleep on it Will you love me forever Let me sleep on it Will you love me forever [Boy:] I couldn't take it any longer Lord, I was crazed And when the feeling came upon me Like a tidal wave I started swearing to my god And on my mother's grave That I would love you to the end of time I swore I'd love you to the end of time [Both:] So now I'm praying for the end of time To hurry up and arrive 'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you I don't think that I can really survive I'll never break my promise or forget my vow But God only knows what I can do right now I'm praying for the end of time It's all that I can do (ooh, ooh) Praying for the end of time So I can end my time with you [Boy repeat until the end:] It was long ago and it was far away And it was so much better than it is today [Girl repeat until the end:] It never felt so good, it never felt so right And we were glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 12, 1978 | 82 | 44 |
| 2 | Aug 19, 1978 | 68 | 58 |
| 3 | Aug 26, 1978 | 50 | 76 |
| 4 | Sep 2, 1978 | 46 | 80 |
| 5 | Sep 9, 1978 | 42 | 84 |
| 6 | Sep 16, 1978 | 40 | 86 |
| 7 | Sep 23, 1978 | 39 | 87 |
| 8 | Sep 30, 1978 | 43 | 83 |
| 9 | Oct 7, 1978 | 60 | 66 |
| 10 | Oct 14, 1978 | 99 | 27 |