Description[]
Upon being asked by Mimi Kennedy (actress and wife of Larry Dilg) to write a simple song, Jim Steinman heard Elvis Presley's "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" on the radio and wrote "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad." It was originally conceived as a country song, but the version that appeared on Bat Out of Hell (which reached #11 on the Billboard charts) sounded much like the Eagles. The following year, the Eagles released a song called "Please Come Home for Christmas" which has a very similar piano intro.
Similar Songs[]
This song shares some musical elements with Lost Boys and Golden Girls.
Versions[]
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on Plain Dirt Fashion
Bonnie Tyler on Free Spirit
Julian Austin on What My Heart Already Knows
The Dream Engine in various live performances
Dawn McCoy on Sweet Time
Constantine Maroulis at Total Eclipse: The Music of Jim Steinman
Craig Foster at Steinman Stripped: A Musical Tribute
Danielle Steers and Dom Hartley-Harris on Bat Out Of Hell The Musical : Original Cast Recording
Lyrics[]
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 here
And maybe you can cry all night
But that'll never change the way 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 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
There's only one girl I'll 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
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