"I'm asthmatic. I was a lot bigger back then, and I still get winded on stage today. But I've learned how to pace it now. I have musical breaks in there"
About this Quote
What makes it work is how it reframes stamina as musical intelligence. “I have musical breaks in there” sounds casual, even throwaway, but it’s a peek behind the curtain of live performance as a negotiated truce between ambition and physiology. Those breaks aren’t just for breath; they’re dramaturgy. They create tension-and-release, give the band space to surge, let the audience anticipate the next vocal detonation. Limitations become arrangement.
There’s also a cultural moment embedded here: aging rock, where the mythology of limitless endurance runs into actual mortality. Meat Loaf doesn’t romanticize decline or pretend it isn’t happening. He treats it like touring reality and adapts, which is its own kind of bravado. The implied message to fans is intimate: the spectacle is still real, but it’s engineered now, built to last a full night rather than win a single heroic moment.
Quote Details
| Topic | Health |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Loaf, Meat. (2026, January 15). I'm asthmatic. I was a lot bigger back then, and I still get winded on stage today. But I've learned how to pace it now. I have musical breaks in there. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-asthmatic-i-was-a-lot-bigger-back-then-and-i-159199/
Chicago Style
Loaf, Meat. "I'm asthmatic. I was a lot bigger back then, and I still get winded on stage today. But I've learned how to pace it now. I have musical breaks in there." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-asthmatic-i-was-a-lot-bigger-back-then-and-i-159199/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I'm asthmatic. I was a lot bigger back then, and I still get winded on stage today. But I've learned how to pace it now. I have musical breaks in there." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-asthmatic-i-was-a-lot-bigger-back-then-and-i-159199/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.






