Tunnel of Love (Bruce Springsteen song)

Infobox Single
Name = Tunnel of Love


Artist = Bruce Springsteen
from Album = Tunnel of Love
B-side =
Released = January 1988
Format = 7" single
Recorded = Between January and May 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen's home studio)
Genre = Rock
Length = 5:12
Label = Columbia Records
Writer = Bruce Springsteen
Producer = Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Plotkin
Chart position = 5
Reviews =
Last single = "Brilliant Disguise"
(1987)
This single = "Tunnel of Love"
(1988)
Next single = "One Step Up"
(1988)

"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 position #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #13 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States.cite web|title=Bruce Springsteen Chart History|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=5738&model.vnuAlbumId=943342|accessdate=2008-08-04] Like the first single from the album, "Brilliant Disguise", "Tunnel of Love" reached #1 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, given Springsteen two straight #1's. The single had less commercial success in other countries.

History

Like much of the "Tunnel of Love" album, "Tunnel of Love" was recorded in Springsteen's home studio, called Thrill Hill East, between January and May of 1987 with several members of the E Street Band.cite web|title=Bruce Base Tunnel of Love|url=http://www.brucebase.org.uk/11.htm|accessdate=2008-08-03] On this song, Springsteen played several instruments and is backed by Roy Bittan on synthesizers, Nils Lofgren on lead guitar and Max Weinberg on drums. Springsteen's future wife, Patti Scialfa provided backing vocals. Effects on the song include the sounds of an actual family riding a roller coaster in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.cite book|title=Tougher Than the Rest 100 Best Bruce Springsteen Songs|author=June Skinner Sawyers|page=112-114|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8256-3470-3]

The song uses a fairground funhouse ride as a metaphor for marriage.cite book|title=Bruce Springsteen|author=Patrick Humphries|page=80|year=1996|isbn=0 7119 5304 X] 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 scary.cite book|title=Glory Days|author=Dave Marsh|year=1996|page=xxvi-xxvii|isbn=1-56025-101-8] 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. Nils 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, as does the sound of the roller coaster riding family.

The song was later released on the compilation album "The Essential Bruce Springsteen". [cite web|title=allmusic The Essential Bruce Springsteen|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fvfixqtaldde|accessdate=2008-08-04]

Video

Like several other videos from the "Tunnel of Love" album, including "Brilliant Disguise", "One Step Up" and "Tougher Than the Rest", the video for "Tunnel of Love" was directed by Meiert Avis. The video narrative reflects the fun house described in the song. The video was later released on the VHS and DVD "Video Anthology / 1978-88". [cite web|title=Internet Movie Database - Bruce Springsteen: Video Anthology 1978-1988|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096987/|accessdate=2008-08-04]

Live performance history

Despite the personal nature of the song, it has occasionally been performed live. Between the Tunnel of Love Express Tour that supported the initial release of the album through July 2005, the song received 71 live performances in concert. [cite web|title=Bruce Springsteen Set List Page Tunnel of Love|url=http://www.brucesetlists.com/townlist.php|accessdate=2008-08-03]

External links

* [http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/TunnelofLove.html Lyrics & Audio clips from Brucespringsteen.net]

References