Like all of Meat Loaf's hits, this was written by the pianist-composer Jim Steinman. He said he wrote it to be the ultimate "motorcycle crash song." The lyrics refer to a rider being thrown off his bike in a wreck and his organs exposed: And the last thing I see is my heart still beating Breaking out of my body and flying away Like a bat out of hell The song "Leader Of The Pack," which also features a motorcycle, was a big influence.
The motorcycle sound in the middle of the song is producer Todd Rundgren on electric guitar. Todd hated the idea at first, but Steinman begged him until he tried it, pulling it off, along with the subsequent solo, in one take.
Jim Steinman wrote this song for his stage production Neverland, which he had been developing since 1975. The play debuted at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on April 26, 1977. The Bat Out Of Hell album was released on October 21, 1977 and contained two other tracks from Neverland as well: "Heaven Can Wait" and "All Revved Up with No Place to Go."
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