It’s All Coming Back to Me Now

"It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman.[1] According to Steinman, the song was inspired by Wuthering Heights and was intended as "the most passionate, romantic song" he could create.[2] Meat Loaf, who had collaborated with Steinman on many of his hit songs, had wanted to record the track for years, but Steinman refused, saying he viewed it as a "woman's song". Steinman won a court case that prevented Meat Loaf from recording it.[3] Girl group Pandora's Box recorded the first released version, and the song later became widely known through a cover by Celine Dion, which upset Meat Loaf because he had planned to use it for an album with the working title Bat Out of Hell III.[4] Alternatively, Meat Loaf has said the song was intended for Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and given to him in 1986. Nico always believed the track was meant for Meat Loaf, but they decided to use "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" for Bat II and save this song for Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose.[4][5] Steinman also offered the song to Bonnie Tyler while she was recording Hide Your Heart with producer Desmond Child. Confident that it would be successful, she asked her record company to include it on the album, but they declined due to the cost of having Steinman produce it.[6][7] The song has had three major releases. The first version appeared on the concept album Original Sin, recorded by Pandora's Box. It was later recorded by Celine Dion for her album Falling into You, and her version became a commercial hit, reaching number one on the Canadian Singles Chart, number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number three on the UK Singles Chart in late 1996. Meat Loaf eventually recorded it as a duet with Norwegian singer Marion Raven for Bat III and released it as a single in 2006. This version reached number one in Norway and number six on the UK Singles Chart. A music video was created for each of the three versions. Death appears as a recurring theme in all of them, aligning with the suggestion in Virgin Records' press release for Original Sin that "in Steinman's songs, the dead come to life and the living are doomed to die".[8]