9 Famous Songs That Are Actually Responses To Other Famous Songs

6. Meatloaf - Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

What is it a response to? Elvis Presley - I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

The bulk of Meatloaf's songs contain no less than 50 impenetrable lyrics, usually repeated over and over so as to maximise the irritation felt by the listener who cannot, for the love of all that is holy, discern just what the hell it is this guy won't do for love.

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad, on the other hand, offers a much simpler message. In the chorus, Loaf reveals exactly what he's willing to bring to his relationship: "I want you, oh I need you. But there ain't no way I'm ever gonna love you. Now don't be sad, oh, cause two out of three ain't bad." While we're sure that heart wrenching sentiment is earnest, it was also stolen directly from an Elvis Presley song, not-so-coincidentally called I Want You, I Need You, I Love You.

Jim Steinman, longtime producer, lyricist, and the man behind the aforementioned MeatIoaf hit I Would Do Anything For Love, was asked to write something simple for Bat Out of Hell, an album so overwrought and needlessly complex that it famously prompted Clive Davis to ask Steinman if he even knew how to write a pop song. Steinman was told to dumb it down for just one song so the record company would have something to put out as a single. While trying to figure out how to do that, the Elvis song was playing on the radio. So Steinman did his best to mimic what made the song so catchy and simple, churning out a chorus similar in pattern but with just a little twist on the end of it.