This song is technically a cover, as the original was released in 1986 by Megumi Shiina under the title “Kanashimi wa tsudzukanai.” I’m not covering that version. I have been able to find it on a Google-owned video website, and it it is a fine version of the song. I just feel like it’s silly for me, who does not know a word of Japanese, to cover that version when there are multiple English-language versions with Steinman lyrics. However, Shiina’s does deserve credit as the original and it is great.

After “Safe Sex” and “20th Century Fox” both had only electronic keyboards, Roy Bittan returns on grand piano as the first sound of this one. He is quickly joined by Jim Bralower’s drums and Rundgren and Troyer on backing vocals. Some drum machine sounds join in with some synths, neither terribly noticeable. Then Holly Sherwood’s lead vocal joins in over the propulsive drum-and-piano beat. There are some synth and guitar fills here and there throughout but the sound remains basically unchanged until a funky guitar-and-keyboard outro version of the title phrase repeating. It’s one of Steinman’s simplest pieces musically, but it fundamentally has a good melody and a great piano-and-drum rhythm and just never leaves those.

Holly Sherwood’s lead vocal in this song is great. She has the emotive qualities that a Steinman song needs but also the power and range for everything asked of her. She even has a distinct voice that makes it seem odd that she spent so much time as a backing vocalist–she seems tailor-made to be a lead.

The lyrics are pretty standard Steinman, which means that they are brilliant by normal standards. It’s about desire and how it is restrained by society’s expectations of “goodness.” The song is nicely encapsulated by “You’ve been nothing but an angel/Every day of your life/And now you wonder what it’s like to be damned.” However, there is also an interesting element to the chorus: “No one said it had to be real/But it’s gotta be something you’ve been wanting to feel.” It seems to be a comment that you don’t even actually need to do anything you fantasize about; the fantasy is important in and of itself. It’s a suggestion that in order to be a fully realized human being, an inner life that doesn’t care about acceptability is important. If ever a song specifically matched my image of Steinman as a nerd on the periphery of all the things he thought were cool, this is it.

There isn’t a ton to analyze about this one, but it’s an excellent song. It has a great melody, great lyrics, and a really good ultra-rhythmic arrangement. It’s not one of my absolute favorite Steinman songs, because it doesn’t have the depth, layers, and epic feel of most of my favorites, but it’s really an incredible change of pace.