Ode to a Jilted Lover 04 - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

As I flipped through the radio stations the other day, I ran across my favorite Meat Loaf song. Yes, I have a favorite Meat Loaf song. Actually, I listened to Bat Out of Hell quite a bit during high school and was a fan of Bat Out of Hell II when it came out in '93. I don't own those albums anymore and will probably never actually pay for any more of his music. I would do anything for love, but I won't do that. Glad I got that out.

While I don't seek out Meat Loaf music and usually ignore it when I pass it on the radio, when I hear Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, I turn it up and sing along. The chorus is a bit corny while, at the same time, is a little clever. 

When I heard it the other day, however, I realized that it is a jilted lover song with a twist. First off, the song is written from the point of view of the jilter, or, in in other words, le jerk. He, le jerk, is singing to the jilted lover. She loves him and asks for a confirmation of his love. He replies with, well, no love. He wants her, he needs her, but there ain't no way he's ever going to love her. Hence the name, Two Out of Three Ain't Bad. 

But before you write him off as a total dodo, he reveals that he simply cannot love her. There is only one girl he loves, but he too was jilted. Can you say twist? I guess that doesn't give him the right to pass it along, but it is a unique jilted lover song in that the jilted becomes a jilter. It's a vicious cycle.

Baby we can talk all night 
But that ain't gettin us nowhere 
I told you everything I possibly can 
There's nothing left inside of me 

And baby you can cry all night 
But that'll never change the way that I feel 
The snow is really piling up outside 
I wish you wouldn't make me leave here 

I poured it on and I poured it out 
I tried to show you just how much I care 
I'm tired of words and I'm too hoarse to shout 
But you've been cold to me so long 
I'm crying icicles instead of tears 
And all I can do is keep on telling you 

I want you, I need you 
But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you 
Now don't be sad 
'Cause two out of three ain't bad 
Now don't be sad 
'Cause two out of three ain't bad 

You'll never find your gold on a sandy beach 
You'll never drill for oil on a city street 
I know you're looking for a ruby in a mountain of rocks 
But there ain't no Coup de Ville hiding at the bottom 
of a Cracker Jack box 

I can't lie, I can't tell you that I'm something I'm not 
No matter how I try 
I'll never be able to give you something 
Something that I just haven't got 

well there is only one girl that I will ever love 
And that was so many years ago 
And though I know I'll never get her out of my heart 
She never loved me back,ooh I know 

I remember how she left me on a stormy night 
How she kissed me and got out of our bed 
And though I pleaded and I begged her not to walk out that door 
She packed her bags and turned right away 

And she kept on telling me 
She kept on telling me 
She kept on telling me 

I want you, I need you 
But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you 
Now don't be sad 
'Cause two out of three ain't bad 

I want you, I need you 
But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you 
Now don't be sad 
'Cause two out of three ain't bad 

Baby we can talk all night 
But that ain't getting us nowhere