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Tunnel of Love (Bruce Springsteen song)

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Not to be confused with Tunnel of Love (Dire Straits song).

"Tunnel of Love"
Single by Bruce Springsteen
from the album Tunnel of Love
B-side"Two for the Road"
ReleasedNovember 1987[1]
RecordedJune – July 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen's home studio)[2]
GenreRock, pop[3]
Length5:10
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bruce Springsteen
Producer(s)Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Plotkin
Bruce Springsteen singles chronology
"Brilliant Disguise"
(1987) 		"Tunnel of Love"
(1987) 		"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 #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #12 on the Cash Box Top 100 . Like the first single from the album, "Brilliant Disguise", "Tunnel of Love" reached number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached the top twenty in Canada peaking at #17. The music video received five MTV Video Music Awards nominations, including Video of the Year and Best Male Video.

History

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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 to record sounds of a family riding a roller coaster.[4] Finally, several members of the E Street Band recorded instrumental tracks that Scott added, replacing Springsteen's.[2] Roy Bittan played synthesizers, Nils Lofgren lead guitar, Max Weinberg drums, and Patti Scialfa 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, "Brilliant Disguise".[2]

The song uses a fairground funhouse ride as a metaphor for marriage.[4][5] The relationship described in the song has three principals - the singer, his wife, and all the things they are scared of.[4] 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.[4][6] 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.[4] The song notes that it is all too easy for two people to lose each other on the "funhouse ride" of marriage.[4][5]

The music of the song echoes the lyrics. The music is complex and has half of the E Street Band playing on the song.[4][5] 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).

The song was later released on the compilation album The Essential Bruce Springsteen.[7]

The song has 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.[8] It was also ranked as the #10 single of 1987 by the Village Voice[citation needed] and the Single of the Year in 1987 by Rolling Stone.[9]

Music video

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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.[10] 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.[11] The video was later released on the VHS and DVD Video Anthology / 1978-88.[12]

Live performance history

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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.[13][failed verification] It received renewed attention on the 2007–2008 Magic Tour as a showcase for Patti Scialfa's singing and Nils Lofgren's guitar work.

Personnel

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According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:[14]

Chart performance

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Chart (1987–1988) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15] 17
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 22
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 38
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 39
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 48
UK Singles (OCC)[20] 45
Cash Box Top 100[21] 12
Billboard Hot 100[22] 9
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[23] 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Retail - Single". Brucebase Wiki. 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Tunnel Of Love - Studio Sessions". Brucebase Wiki. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  3. ^ "Tunnel of Loveby Bruce Springsteen – Classic Rock Review". October 17, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Sawyers, June Skinner (2006). Tougher Than the Rest: 100 Best Bruce Springsteen Songs. pp. 112–114. ISBN 978-0-8256-3470-3.
  5. ^ a b c Humphries, Patrick (1996). Bruce Springsteen. p. 80. ISBN 0-7119-5304-X.
  6. ^ Marsh, Dave (1996). Glory Days. p. xxvi–xxvii. ISBN 1-56025-101-8.
  7. ^ "The Essential Bruce Springsteen". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  8. ^ Pollock, Bruce (2005). The Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs of the Rock and Roll Era: 1944-2000 (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 381. ISBN 9780415970730.
  9. ^ "Rolling Stone 1987 Critics". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  10. ^ "Meiert Avis". IMDb. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
  11. ^ "Palace Amusements". Brucebase Wiki. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  12. ^ "Bruce Springsteen: Video Anthology 1978-1988 (Video 1989)". IMDb. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  13. ^ "Bruce Springsteen Set List Page Tunnel of Love". Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  14. ^ Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2020). Bruce Springsteen All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 284. ISBN 978-1-78472-649-2.
  15. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0926." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Tunnel of Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  17. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bruce Springsteen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  19. ^ "Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  20. ^ "Bruce Springsteen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  21. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits: 1952-1996. Record Research.
  22. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955-2010. Record Research.
  23. ^ "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
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