After the commercial success of Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, and earning a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", Meat Loaf nevertheless experienced some difficulty establishing a steady career within the United States. The key to this success was his popularity in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom and Ireland. He received the 1994 Brit Award in the United Kingdom for best-selling album and single. He appeared in the 1997 film Spice World and he ranked 23rd for the number of weeks spent on the UK charts in 2006. He ranks 96th on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". Meat Loaf appeared in over 50 films and television shows, sometimes as himself or as characters resembling his stage persona. His film roles include Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Robert Paulsen in Fight Club (1999). His early stage work included dual roles in the original Broadway cast of The Rocky Horror Show. He also appeared in the musical Hair, both on and Off-Broadway.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meat_Loaf
Studio albums
Bat Out of Hell (1977)
Dead Ringer (1981)
Midnight at the Lost and Found (1983)
Bad Attitude (1984)
Blind Before I Stop (1986)
Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell (1993)
Welcome to the Neighbourhood (1995)
Couldn't Have Said It Better (2003)
Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose (2006)
Hang Cool Teddy Bear (2010)
Hell in a Handbasket (2011)
Braver Than We Are (2016)
Life Is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back
Meat Loaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I want my money back
It's all or nothing
And nothing's all I ever get
Every time I turn it on
I burn it up and burn it out
There's always something going wrong
That's the only guarantee
That's what this is all about
It's a never ending attack
Everything's a lie, and that's a fact
Life is a lemon and I want my money back!
And all the morons
And all the stooges with their coins
They're the ones who make the rules
It's not a game, it's just a rout
There's desperation (there's desperation)
There's desperation in the air
It leaves a stain on all your clothes
And no detergent gets it out
And we're always slipping through the the cracks (slipping)
Then the movie's over, fade to black
Life is a lemon and I want my money back!
I want my money back
I want my money back
What about love?
It's defective!
It's always breaking in half
What about sex?!
It's defective!
It's never built to really last
What about your family?
It's defective!
All the batteries are shot
What about your friends?
They're defective!
All the parts are out of stock
What about hope?
It's defective!
It's corroded and decayed
What about faith?
It's defective!
It's tattered and it's frayed
What about your Gods?
They're defective!
They forgot the warranty
What about your town?
It's defective!
It's a dead end street to me
What about your school?
It's defective!
It's a pack of useless lies
What about your work?
It's defective!
It's a crock and then you die
What about your childhood?
It's defective!
It's dead and buried in the past
What about your future?
It's defective!
And you can shove it up your ass!
Oh, I want my money back (life is a lemon)
I want my money back (life is a lemon, life is a lemon)
It's all or nothing
And nothing's all I ever get
Every time I turn it on
I burn it up and burn it out
It's a never ending attack
Everything's a lie, and that's a fact
Life is a lemon and I want my money back!
And we're always slipping through the the cracks (slipping)
Then the movie's over-fade to black
Life is a lemon and I want my money back!
Back, back, back, back, back
I want my money back
I want my money back (life is a lemon)
Meat Loaf's "Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back" is a song about disappointment and frustration with life. The lyrics convey a feeling of disillusionment that no matter what one does, nothing seems to work out as planned. The phrase "life is a lemon" refers to the idea that life has left a sour taste in the mouth of the singer, and he wants his money back because he feels like he's been cheated.
The song's opening line "It's all or nothing, and nothing's all I ever get" sets the tone for the rest of the song. It emphasizes the singer's feeling of being trapped in a perpetual cycle of failure and disappointment. Every time he tries to make something work, it falls apart, and he's left with nothing.
The second verse portrays the singer's view that the world is run by morons and stooges who make arbitrary rules that everyone else has to follow. The lines "There's desperation in the air, it leaves a stain on all your clothes, and no detergent gets it out" conjures up images of people living in dire circumstances and being unable to escape their predicament.
Overall, the song speaks to a larger sense of disillusionment with life and the human condition. The singer believes that everything in life is broken, from love and sex to family and friends. He has lost faith in God and the institutions of society, such as school and work. The only thing he knows for sure is that life is a lemon, and he wants his money back.
Line by Line Meaning
I want my money back
The singer is expressing his dissatisfaction and frustration with life in general and wishes to have something of value that he feels he was promised.
It's all or nothing
The singer is emphasizing the binary nature of existence, either succeeding or failing.
And nothing's all I ever get
The singer is frustrated that he cannot seem to achieve the things he desires, no matter how hard he tries.
Every time I turn it on
The singer is expressing his repeated attempts at trying to make things work.
I burn it up and burn it out
The singer's attempts to make things work always end up failing and being destroyed.
It's always something
The singer is expressing his frustration that life is always full of problems.
There's always something going wrong
The singer feels that life is full of unexpected issues that he can never overcome.
That's the only guarantee
The singer believes that nothing is certain in life except for life's uncertainties.
That's what this is all about
The singer is emphasizing the nature of life as a constant struggle.
It's a never ending attack
The singer believes life is a never-ending cycle of difficulty and unfairness.
Everything's a lie, and that's a fact
The singer believes that all the promises that were made to him were false, and the truth of life is that there are no guarantees.
Life is a lemon and I want my money back!
The refrain of the song is the central message - life is not as it seems, and the singer wants what he was promised.
And all the morons
The singer is frustrated by the foolish people who make rules in society that he must follow.
And all the stooges with their coins
The singer is emphasizing that those in power are only interested in money.
They're the ones who make the rules
The singer believes that those who have money are the ones who control society and create its rules.
It's not a game, it's just a rout
The singer is emphasizing that the struggle for success is not a game, but a battle he cannot win.
There's desperation (there's desperation)
The singer emphasizes the feeling of desperation that is brought on by the hopelessness of his situation.
It leaves a stain on all your clothes
The singer is expressing the idea that the desperation he feels is affecting every aspect of his life.
And no detergent gets it out
The singer emphasizes the idea that the feeling of desperation will not simply fade away, but will remain forever.
And we're always slipping through the the cracks (slipping)
The singer believes that, no matter how hard he tries, he will always fail because of external factors.
Then the movie's over, fade to black
The singer believes that life is like a movie, where there can never be a happy ending.
What about love?
The singer is beginning to list off the various aspects of life that have failed him.
It's defective!
The singer is expressing his disappointment and, in some ways, disgust at love.
It's always breaking in half
Love always seems to fail, never lasting as long as he wants it to.
What about sex?!
The singer is listing off another aspect of life that has failed him.
It's defective!
The singer is expressing his disappointment and frustration with sex.
It's never built to really last
The singer expresses the idea that sex never seems to be quite as fulfilling or long-lasting as he wants it to be.
What about your family?
The singer is continuing to list off the various aspects of his life that have failed him.
It's defective!
The singer believes that his family has let him down in some way.
All the batteries are shot
The singer emphasizes that, for some reason his family has run out of energy and cannot support him.
What about your friends?
The singer continues to list off things that have failed him in life.
They're defective!
The singer believes that his friends have let him down in some fundamental way.
All the parts are out of stock
The singer believes that his friends are unable to provide him with the support or energy that he needs.
What about hope?
Hope is the next aspect of life that the singer believes has let him down.
It's defective!
The singer believes that hope is a false emotion that only harms him.
It's corroded and decayed
The singer believes that hope has been destroyed and deteriorated to a point where it is no longer of any use.
What about faith?
Faith is the next aspect of life that the singer discusses.
It's defective!
The singer believes that faith is a lie that has never brought him any happiness or value.
It's tattered and it's frayed
The singer believes that faith has been destroyed and is no longer of any use.
What about your Gods?
The singer is discussing the existence of higher powers in the universe.
They're defective!
The singer believes that the gods he once believed in have not come through on their promises.
They forgot the warranty
The singer believes that the gods he once believed in should have provided a warranty of some kind but did not.
What about your town?
The singer is analyzing his environment and society.
It's defective!
The singer believes that his environment is full of problems and negativity.
It's a dead end street to me
The singer feels that his environment offers him no hope or prospect for growth.
What about your school?
The singer is continuing to analyze the parts of society that have failed him.
It's defective!
The singer believes that school is not a valuable institution and is instead full of lies.
It's a pack of useless lies
The singer believes that school teaches students things that are not helpful to them in real life.
What about your work?
The singer is discussing the difficulties of the workforce.
It's defective!
The singer believes that his job is not valuable and does not provide him with any satisfaction.
It's a crock and then you die
The singer believes that his job is useless and the only guarantee is death.
What about your childhood?
The singer is discussing his past experiences and how they have affected him.
It's defective!
The singer believes that his past was not good and has had negative effects on him.
It's dead and buried in the past
The singer emphasizes that his past is permanently gone and offers him nothing anymore.
What about your future?
Finally, the singer discusses his future and his prospects.
It's defective!
The singer believes that his future will be just as bad as his past and present.
And you can shove it up your ass!
The singer is expressing resentment and frustration towards his future prospects.
Back, back, back, back, back
The song concludes with this repeated refrain, emphasizing the cyclical nature of the singer's experiences in life.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jim Steinman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind