Very witty. The trick is in the contrast. The music is gentle, with lilting woodwind instrumentation, comforting religious imagery, and a quiet tone.
But then the last line of each half of the song, 'Go ahead and cry like hell', turns the meaning around completely.
It sounds caring and sympathetic, but the lyrics really mean 'Cry all you want, I don't care.'
A typical Steinman/Meatloaf reversal of meaning. Equivalent to the lines in Paradise By the Dashboard Light: "I sware that I would love you till the end of time! / So now I'm praying for the end of time..." (because I don't love you any more).
Very witty. The trick is in the contrast. The music is gentle, with lilting woodwind instrumentation, comforting religious imagery, and a quiet tone.
But then the last line of each half of the song, 'Go ahead and cry like hell', turns the meaning around completely.
It sounds caring and sympathetic, but the lyrics really mean 'Cry all you want, I don't care.'
A typical Steinman/Meatloaf reversal of meaning. Equivalent to the lines in Paradise By the Dashboard Light: "I sware that I would love you till the end of time! / So now I'm praying for the end of time..." (because I don't love you any more).