You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth

"You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth" (also known as "You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)") is the first single by the American musician Meat Loaf in his solo career. It is a track off his 1977 album Bat out of Hell, written by Jim Steinman.

The album version includes a spoken word intro by Steinman and Marcia McClain. This was removed from the single version and most radio spins.

Background

Steve Popovich reportedly listened to the intro to the song and it became a key factor of his accepting Bat out of Hell for Cleveland International Records. The ultimate irony was that Meat Loaf, Steinman, and the band tried for a year or so to get the record label with their music, and how they allegedly did so was a 45-second recording with no singing at all.

According to his autobiography, Meat Loaf asked Jim to write a song that wasn't 15 or 20 minutes long, and, in Meat Loaf's words, a "pop song." His autobiography also dates the writing of the song to 1975, the song reportedly being a key factor in Meat and Jim deciding to do an album together.

When released, it wasn't too successful as a single, because critics condemned it for being too "theatrical." The track was never fully noticed until it became a B-side to "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."

Music video

The video, as with "Two out of Three Ain't Bad," "Paradise," and the others in the Bat set, was filmed on a soundstage as if it were a live performance, with Meat Loaf in his signature suspenders, ripped formal shirt, and bearing a red scarf.

Covers

• Reg Livermore covered the song as "Hot Summer Night."
• The song was covered by Sleaze Unit member M$C for MC Chorbles' album The Prawn Net.
• Wizard rock group Remus and the Lupins covered this song on Wizard Rock EP of the Month Club's April 2007 release. The cover differs slightly from the original in that the opening dialogue featured Remus Lupin asking Tonks out for ice cream.

Charts