"Tunnel of Love" is the title song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 '' Tunnel of Love'' album. It was released as the second single from the album, reaching number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Like the first single from the album, "

Brilliant Disguise "Brilliant Disguise" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 album '' Tunnel of Love''. It was released as the first single from the album, reaching the No. 5 position on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock char ...

", "Tunnel of Love" reached number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached the top twenty in Canada peaking at number seventeen. The music video received five MTV Video Music Awards nominations, including Video of the Year and

Best Male Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video was one of four original general awards that have been handed out every year since the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, though, the award was briefly renamed Male Artist of the Year, and ...

History

Engineer Toby Scott recorded "Tunnel of Love" in late June thru early July 1987, with Springsteen on all instruments, at his home studio in Rumson, New Jersey. All songs for a new, nameless album had been recorded by this time, with "Lucky Man" in the album sequence. Next, Scott was sent to an amusement park in

Point Pleasant, New Jersey Point Pleasant is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was down from 19,306 in 2000 but still up from 18,177 in 1990. The Borough is a Jersey Shore community situ ...

to record sounds of a family riding a roller coaster. Finally, several members of the

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

recorded instrumental tracks that Scott added, replacing Springsteen's.

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synthe ...

played synthesizers,

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a membe ...

lead guitar, Max Weinberg drums, and

Patti Scialfa Vivienne Patricia Scialfa ( ; born July 29, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Scialfa has been a member of the E Street Band since 1984 and has been married to Bruce Springsteen since 1991. In 2014, Scialfa was inducted into ...

provided backing vocals. "Tunnel of Love" became the title track of the album, replacing "Lucky Man", which was released as the b-side of the first single, "

". The song uses a fairground funhouse ride as a metaphor for marriage. The relationship described in the song has three principals - the singer, his wife, and all the things they are scared of. The singer feels that marriage should be simple ("man meets woman and they fall in love"), but recognizes that along the way the ride can become difficult and unpredictable. The characters in the song laugh when they see each other in the funhouse mirrors, but it is not clear if they are laughing out of humor, or laughing at each other in derision. The song notes that it is all too easy for two people to lose each other on the "funhouse ride" of marriage. The music of the song echoes the lyrics. The music is complex and has half of the E Street Band playing on the song. Lofgren's surging guitar sound has been likened to the sound of the bickering couple, and the percussion and synthesizer add to the carnival atmosphere. The chanted vocal bridge at 3:40 in the song borrows the melody from the bridge of the Moody Blues' song " New Horizons" (from their 1972 album ''

Seventh Sojourn ''Seventh Sojourn'' is the eighth album by the Moody Blues, released in 1972. Music and lyrics Although the album's lyrics address political concerns, in the 1990 documentary ''The Moody Blues: Legend of a Band'', bassist John Lodge describ ...

''). The song was later released on the compilation album '' The Essential Bruce Springsteen''. The aggregation of critics' lists at acclaimedmusic.net did not place this song in its list of the top 3000 songs of all time, but rated it as one of the 1980 songs "bubbling under" the top 3000. The song has also been listed as the #20 Best Rock and Roll single of all time by Jimmy Guterman in 1992 and as one of the 7500 most important songs from 1944 through 2000 by Bruce Pollock. It was also ranked as the #10 single of 1987 by the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' and the Single of the Year in 1987 by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''.

Music video

Like several other videos from the ''Tunnel of Love'' album, including "

", " One Step Up" and "

Tougher Than the Rest "Tougher Than the Rest" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 '' Tunnel of Love'' album. It was released as a single in some countries, following " Brilliant Disguise" and the title track, but was not released as a single in the United ...

", the video for "Tunnel of Love" was directed by Meiert Avis. The video narrative reflects the fun house described in the song. It was filmed at Palace Amusements, Asbury Park, New Jersey over November 16–17, 1987. The video was later released on the VHS and DVD '' Video Anthology / 1978-88''.

Live performance history

Despite the personal nature of the song, it has occasionally been performed live. Between the

Tunnel of Love Express Tour The Tunnel of Love Express was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and featuring The E Street Band along with The Horns of Love that took place in 1988. It was followed by a four and a half months of the release of Springsteen's October 198 ...

that supported the initial release of the album through July 2005, the song received 71 live performances in concert. It received renewed attention on the 2007–2008 Magic Tour as a showcase for

's singing and

's guitar work.

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon: * Bruce Springsteen – vocals, guitars, special effects, bass, drum machine *

– lead guitar *

– synthesizer * Max Weinberg – percussion *

– vocals

Chart performance

References

External links

Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net
{{Authority control 1987 singles Bruce Springsteen songs Songs written by Bruce Springsteen Music videos directed by Meiert Avis Song recordings produced by Jon Landau Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Bruce Springsteen Song recordings produced by Chuck Plotkin