Peak
1
Weeks
22
Score
5,556
Chart Year
1993
The story begins with the opening credits saying: "I have travelled across the universe through the years to find her. Sometimes going all the way is just a start." We then see "The Beast" character – a deformed man portrayed by Meat Loaf, on a motorbike being chased by police officers and a helicopter. As the chase continues into night, the Beast passes into a graveyard and into what appears to be a very ornate mausoleum, hiding from his pursuers. He mournfully examines his deformed hands and features. As the officers enter and examine the mausoleum, he crashes through the wall with his motorbike and accidentally knocks down a police officer (whose shotgun goes off): this causes one of the chandeliers on the ceiling to fall and kill the officer. In desperation, the Beast flees into the nearby woods where he comes across a beautiful woman bathing/cooling herself by a fountain. The woman appears to be in sunny daylight, while the rest of the woods and castle clearly show that it is night-time. The woman looks into a mirror and glimpses the Beast watching her. She turns and he flees leaving only an amulet hanging on a branch. The woman picks it up and pursues him. As she approaches the castle, the Beast is watching her movements through the reflection of his drink. As she comes into the castle, the Beast hurriedly removes himself. The woman sits in his chair and rests by the fire. The Beast watches her from his hall of mirrors and contemplates approaching her but is ashamed of his appearance. She later is seen having a bath, interspersed with the police officers finding the dead officer's body and preparing to raid the castle. She is later seen trying to sleep while being seduced by three vampy women, while the Beast sits in a chair (a reference to Dracula and the Brides). The Beast leaves the room and, seeing his reflection, begins to smash up the mirrors. The woman, hearing the noise, comes out and follows him into a presumable living room. The Beast observes her from above and levitates the chair she is sitting on. The Beast, then hearing the officers are near, moves away, and pulls the chair back down, breaking a lamp. The two run away and the woman removes the Beast's hood so she can look at him clearly. She accepts him and caresses his face while they embrace. As they pull away, the Beast is returned to his human form, and the two disappear just before the police catch them. The woman and the transformed Beast finally ride off into the sunrise on his motorbike.
Michael Bay directed the accompanying music video for "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". He also directed the videos for "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are" and "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through", also from Bat Out of Hell II. Filming took place in Los Angeles County, California in July 1993; the opening chase was filmed at Chávez Ravine, with the interior mansion scenes filmed at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills.[6] The cinematographer was Daniel Pearl, particularly known for filming The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1973. Pearl says that this video "is one of my personal all-time favorite projects... I think the cinematography is pure, and it tells a story about the song."[25] The video is based on Beauty and the Beast and The Phantom of the Opera. Bob Keane did Meat Loaf's make-up, which took up to two hours to apply. The make-up was designed to be simple and scary, yet "with the ability to make him sympathetic."[26] The shoot went over budget, and was filmed in 90 °F (32 °C) heat, across four days. According to one executive, it "probably had the budget of Four Weddings and a Funeral."[4] The video, which was the abridged seven-minute version of the song rather than the twelve-minute album version, was put into heavy rotation on MTV. The actress in the video, Dana Patrick, is miming to Crosby's vocals; she did the same for Patti Russo's vocals in the 1995 song "I'd Lie for You (And That's the Truth)".[2][6] According to the captions aired on Pop-Up Video, Patrick received several offers for record deals after the video aired, from executives who assumed she was actually singing in the video.[6]
And I would do anything for love I'd run right into hell and back I would do anything for love I'll never lie to you and that's a fact But I'll never forget the way you feel right now Oh no, no way And I would do anything for love But I won't do that I won't do that Anything for love I would do anything for love I would do anything for love But I won't do that I won't do that Some days it don't come easy Some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all And these are the days that never end Some nights you're breathing fire Some nights you're carved in ice Some nights you're like nothing I've ever seen before Or will again Maybe I'm crazy But it's crazy and it's true I know you can save me No one else can save me now but you As long as the planets are turning As long as the stars are burning As long as your dreams are coming true You better believe it! That I would do anything for love And I'll be there til the final act I would do anything for love And I'll take a vow and seal a pact But I'll never forgive myself if we don't go all the way Tonight! I would do anything for love, oh I would do anything for love I would do anything for love, but I won't do that, no I won't do that... I would do anything for love Anything you've been dreaming of But I just won't do that Somedays I pray for silence Somedays I pray for soul Somedays I just pray to the God of Sex and Drums and Rock 'N Roll Some nights I lose the feeling Some nights I lose control Some nights I just lose it all when I watch you dance and the thunder rolls Maybe I'm lonely And that's all I'm qualified to be There's just one and only, the one and only promise I can keep As long as the wheels are turning, as long as the fires are burning As long as your prayers are coming true, you better believe it That I would do anything for love, and you know it's true and that's a fact I would do anything for love, and there'll never be no turning back But I'll never do it better than I do it with you, so long, so long And I would do anything for love, oh I would do anything for love I would do anything for love, but I won't do that, no no no I won't do that I would do anything for love, anything you've been dreaming of But I just won't do that But I'll never stop dreaming of you every night of my life, no way And I would do anything for love, oh I would do anything for love I would do anything for love, but I won't do that, no I won't do that [Girl] Will you raise me up, will you help me down? Will you get me right out of this Godforsaken town? Will you make it all a little less cold? [Boy] I can do that! I can do that! [Girl] Will you hold me sacred? Will you hold me tight? Can you colorize my life, I'm so sick of black and white? Can you make it all a little less old? [Boy] I can do that! Oh oh, now I can do that! [Girl] Will you make me some magic, with your own two hands? Can you build an emerald city with these grains of sand? Can you give me something I can take home? [Boy] I can do that! Oh oh now, I can do that! [Girl] Will you cater to every fantasy I got? Will ya hose me down with holy water, if I get too hot? Will you take me places I've never known? [Boy] I can do that! Oh oh now, I can do that! [Girl] 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 [Boy] I won't do that! No I won't do that! [Girl] 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 [Boy] I won't do that! No I won't do that! Anything for love, oh I would do anything for love I would do anything for love, but I won't do that, no I won't do that
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 18, 1993 | 68 | 58 |
| 2 | Sep 25, 1993 | 48 | 78 |
| 3 | Oct 2, 1993 | 25 | 101 |
| 4 | Oct 9, 1993 | 9 | 117 |
| 5 | Oct 16, 1993 | 6 | 120 |
| 6 | Oct 23, 1993 | 3 | 123 |
| 7 | Oct 30, 1993 | 2 | 124 |
| 8 | Nov 6, 1993 | 1 | 125 |
| 9 | Nov 13, 1993 | 1 | 125 |
| 10 | Nov 20, 1993 | 1 | 125 |
| 11 | Nov 27, 1993 | 1 | 125 |
| 12 | Dec 4, 1993 | 1 | 125 |
| 13 | Dec 11, 1993 | 2 | 124 |
| 14 | Dec 18, 1993 | 4 | 122 |
| 15 | Dec 25, 1993 | 4 | 122 |
| 16 | Jan 1, 1994 | 5 | 121 |
| 17 | Jan 8, 1994 | 9 | 117 |
| 18 | Jan 15, 1994 | 13 | 113 |
| 19 | Jan 22, 1994 | 22 | 104 |
| 20 | Jan 29, 1994 | 34 | 92 |