Tunnel of Love |
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Released: October 9, 1987 Peak: 11 US, 11 UK, 11 CN, 5 AU, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.3 UK, 8.5 world (includes US and UK) 10.16 EAS Genre: rock |
Tracks:Click on a song titled for more details.
Total Running Time: 46:25 Other Songs from This Era:
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Rating: 4.221 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings)
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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Following Up Born in the U.S.A. with Another Nebraska?After the huge success of 1984’s blockbuster Born in the U.S.A. album and its tour which sold more than four million tickets, MG-266 Bruce contemplated his next effort. First up was the immensely successful live box set in 1986, but that only bought him some time before he’d inevitably have to make another studio album that loomed large in the shadow of its predecessor.“The idea for a second Born in the U.S.A. album was quickly scrapped; it would have been an easy way out and most likely a failure compared to the first album.” MG-266 “Just as he had followed his 1980 commercial breakthrough The River with the challenging Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen followed the most popular album of his career, Born in the U.S.A., with another low-key, anguished effort, Tunnel of Love.” AM “Especially in their sound, several of the songs, Cautious Man and Two Faces, for example, could have fit seamlessly onto Nebraska, though the arrangements overall were not as stripped-down and acoustic as on the earlier album.” AM The Divorce Album“While Nebraska was filled with songs of economic desperation, however, Tunnel of Love, as its title suggested, was an album of romantic exploration. But the lovers were just as desperate in their way as Nebraska's small-time criminals. In song after song, Springsteen questioned the trust and honesty on both sides in a romantic relationship, specifically a married relationship.” AM As he said, “My first full record about men and women in love would be a pretty rough affair.” MG-266“Since Springsteen sounded more autobiographical than ever before… it was hard not to wonder about the state of his own two-and-a-half-year marriage, and it wasn't surprising when that marriage collapsed the following year.” AM He married model and actress Julianne Phillips in 1985, seven months after they met. “Their romantic bond, however, began to weaken within a matter of months.” MG-266 As he said, “When Julie was filming on location, I’d be at home in New Jersey, slowly slipping back to my old ways, the bars, the late nights – nothing serious, just my usual drifting – but it wasn’t the married life.” MG-267 Springsteen said his new confessional style came from “Stolen Car,” a song on The River. “That song’s character, drifting through the night, is the first to face the angels and devils that will drive him toward his love and keep him from ever reaching her. This was the voice that embodied my own conflicts.” MG-268 The RecordingLike he had done with Nebraska, Springsteen recorded much of the album in his home studio – this time “a large room over the guest garage in his Georgian mansion in Rumson,” MG-269 New Jersey. This time he “had access to more sturdy equipment, including a 24-track digital tape recorder – he had come a long way since the 8-track Portastudio.” MG-270He started recording in the summer of 1986 but set aside the project to work on the 1986 live box set. Then he returned to working on the Tunnel of Love album in January 1987. MG-270 No More E Street Band?The E Street Band “added a few overdubs without participating in real sessions.” MG-270 For the most part, however, Springsteen handled instrumental duties himself. No one realized at the time that Springsteen would move forward for more than a decade without the band, finally reuniting them for a 1999-2000 tour and then the 2002 album The Rising.Still a Success“Tunnel of Love was not the album that the ten million fans who had bought Born in the U.S.A. as of 1987 were waiting for, and though it topped the charts, sold three million copies, and spawned three Top 40 hits, much of this was on career momentum. Springsteen was as much at a crossroads with his audience as he seemed to be in his work and in his personal life, though this was not immediately apparent.” AMThe SongsHere’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs. |
Ain’t Got YouBruce Springsteen |
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to April 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: Tunnel of Love (1987) Peak: 8 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song:While “Ain’t Got You” is an original song, it definitely has homages to Billy Boy Arnold’s 1955 blues song “I Ain’t Got You.” “Besides the obvious name similarity, the two songs also have the same lyrical theme (although Bruce updates and exaggerates the narrator’s Midas-like success) and share a very similar bridge melody.” ESS Also “note the prominence of Arnold’s signature harmonica in the arrangement and the Bo Diddley beat to which Bruce sets the song.” ESSBruce “boasts of exaggerated riches…[although he] wasn’t buying a string of houses or bedecking himself in bling” ESS to the point that it is easy to “miss or dismiss his narrator’s longing.” ESS The song hints that all was not paradise with Bruce and his marriage, less than two years old at the time he penned the song. However, “with the benefit of time and hindsight (and the knowledge that Bruce and Patti were probably several months into their affair by the time Bruce recorded the song), it’s likely that “Ain’t Got You” is addressed to Bruce’s second wife, not his first.” ESS It becomes a lament from someone who “discovered their soulmate only after marrying someone else.” ESS The song “introduces one of Bruce’s most thematic albums like an overture” ESS “as every track on the album features charactes unable to fully connect.” ESS Musically, the song is “spare and tight, barely topping two minutes.” ESS “It allowed Bruce to immediately subvert his fans’ expectations and establish a very different kind of album than the one preceding.” ESS |
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Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to May 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: 6/6/1988 as a single (UK), Tunnel of Love (1987), The Essential (2015), Best of (2024) B-Side: “Roulette” Peak: 13 UK, 35 AU, 16 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 257.08 video, 101.68 streaming About the Song:“’Tougher Than the Rest’ is a near-perfect song.” ESS “Each musical element plays an essential role in conveying the song’s message of romantic resilience: the resolute drum machine tempered with Max Weinberg’s deliberately imperfect, humanizing heartbeat; the gruff, masculine melody that keeps Bruce’s romantic lyrics anchored in the real world; and even the deep guitar solo that commands attention without ever showboating. ‘Tougher Than the Rest’ is the musical equivalent of John Cusack standing outside your window with a boombox held over his head.” ESSThe song is lyrically ambiguous. “Never one to shy away from naming his characters, Bruce refrains here in order to ensure that we inhabit rather than observe his characters.” ESS “Are these two strangers across a crowded bar working up the courage to make the first move, or two friends gauging whether it’s time to take their relationship to the next level? Is it the singer whose heart was broken, or is it the girl he’s singing to?” ESS
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All That Heaven Will AllowBruce Springsteen |
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to May 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: Tunnel of Love (1987) First Charted: 2/27/1988 as an album cut Peak: 5 AR, 21 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song:“All That Heaven Will Allow” “is one of the brighter songs on Tunnel of Love – perhaps the brightest. It’s a poppy, treacly, light-on-its-feet smile of a song that defies any attempts at analysis by dint of its unabashed newly-in-love lyrics.” ESS This song is inspired by the 1955 Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman film All That Heaven Allows. The two fall in love, but social status and children get in the way.In Bruce’s song, the narrator is of modest means, but he’s carefree and in love. Still, he knows that his love interest’s higher social status will prevent the road ahead from being a smooth one. Musically, Bruce plays every instrument on the track except the drums, which are handled by E Street Band’s Max Weinberg. ESS |
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Spare PartsBruce Springsteen |
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: 1/20/1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey; May to July 1987 at A&M Recording Studio in Los Angeles; May to July 1987 (?) at Kren Studios in Hollywood Released: 9/12/1988 as a single, Tunnel of Love (1987) B-Side: “Pink Cadillac” / “Spare Parts” / “Chimes of Freedom (live)” First Charted: 10/18/1987 as an album cut Peak: 28 AR, 32 UK, 57 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. |
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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About the Song:“Spare Parts” is a song “about taking control of your own life, rather than placing your trust in the plan of a higher power.” ESS It “is one of the most straightforward songs Bruce has ever written. There’s no hidden meaning, no cryptic references, not a single metaphor. The language is plain spoken and blunt.” ESS It “is brutally frank and unflinchingly honest. It’s also redemptive and empowering.” ESSThe main character, Janey, is having a baby out of wedlock, but refuses to see it as having done anything wrong. The father, Bobby, takes off before the baby is even born. Janey, however, has “forfeited her youth to take care of her son.” ESS Still, she is tempted to put the baby in a basket and set it adrift downstream, hoping someone else will find the baby and take it in. Musically, the song was initially recorded as an acoustic solo track but Bruce brought in E Street Band members separately to his home to add to it. ESS Harmonica duties are handled by Jimmie Wood of the Imperial Crowns. |
Cautious ManBruce Springsteen |
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to May 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: Tunnel of Love (1987) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. About the Song:“Cautious Man” borrows an iconic image (and theme) from the classic 1955 Night of the Hunter film. In both, the main character has the words “love” and “fear” tattooed on his hands. In the song, it becomes a message about “the main character trying to keep his self-destructive tendencies in check.” ESS “He’s not meant for domesticity, and the road (and its temptations) call to him. He does his best to resist, but he knows it’s only a matter of time.” ESSBruce’s songs are often autobiographical, which he admits here. He’s clearly working through some issues. “If there was some part of myself that I was trying to explain, for better or worse, that song describes a good amount of it.” ESS Musically, this is a solo effort with Bruce playing every instrument, including a mandolin. |
Walk Like a ManBruce Springsteen |
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to April 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: Tunnel of Love (1987) Peak: 33 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song:“Walk Like a Man” is “another explicit message to his father,” AM a sort of rounding out of a trilogy started with “Adam Raised a Cain” (1978) in which the son rebels against the father and “Independence Day” (1980) in which the son pities the father. ESSIn “Walk Like a Man” the son reflects on his wedding day, but more about his relationship with his father than his bride. “The son hints that his father may not be around anymore – not physically at least, but his influence lives on, and the son does his best to honor his father.” ESS |
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Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to April 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: 10/17/1987 as a single, Tunnel of Love (1987), The Essential (2003) B-Side: “Two for the Road” Peak: 9 BB, 12 CB, 12 GR, 13 RR, 13 AC, 14 AR, 45 UK, 17 CN, 41 AU, 7 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 257.08 video, 101.68 streaming |
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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About the Song:“Tunnel of Love” is “one of Bruce Springsteen’s most important and revealing recordings.” ESS It “is arguably the pinnacle of his metaphorical songwriting craft.” ESS “It sports a complex soundscape, an odd but irresistible rhythm, and…among the best backing vocals not just in Bruce’s but in any Top Ten song.” ESS Bruce “staged and captured actual riders on a roller coaster for the song’s introduction” ESS and Roy Bittan on synthesizer for the “roller coaster climb during the song’s spooky break.” ESS“The events of Bruce’s personal life informed Bruce’s Tunnel of Love songwriting, and we can best appreciate the evolution of the album and the depth of its title track if we align them with the arc of his dissolving marriage.” ESS The song follows a narrator through the excitement of a new relationship into the dark shadows where fear of intimacy threatens to derail the ride. In the end, though, “Bruce sounds like a man who’s starting to figure out what makes a relationship work, and in the process starting to figure himself out, too.” ESS
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Two FacesBruce Springsteen |
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to April 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: Tunnel of Love (1987) About the Song:“Long before Bruce opened up publicly in interviews about his lifelong struggles with depression, he was telling us about it through his work. With the possible exception of ‘Cautious Man,’ nowhere is that more evident than in ‘Two Faces.’” ESS The “narrator may be confident in this moment, [but] he’ll need to be on guard against his darker half forever.” ESSThe 1963 doo-wop song “Two Faces Have I” by Lou Christie was an influence. “Christie’s song wasn’t about dual personalities or warring natures; it was just a simple pop break-up song featuring a narrator who hides his heartbreak from the world. But the notion of two faces – one that laughs and one that cries–likely resonated” ESS when Springsteen was writing material for Tunnel of Love. ESS “’Two Faces’ is a spare song both in orchestration and narration. Bruce’s lyrics are among his most economical, eschewing metaphor beyond the titular, and yet they are powerfully effective–building tension towards the bridge.” ESS |
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Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to April 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: 9/25/1987 as a single, Tunnel of Love (1987), Greatest Hits (1995), The Essential (2003), The Collection (2012), The Essential (2015), Chapter and Verse (2016), Best of (2024) B-Side: “Lucky Man” Peak: 5 BB, 4 CB, 3 GR, 5 RR, 5 AC, 11 AR, 20 UK, 9 CN, 17 AU, 6 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 33.17 video, 62.39 streaming |
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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About the Song:The webmaster at EStreetShuffle.com boldly calls “God have mercy on the man who doubts what he’s sure of” the “single greatest last line of any rock song ever.” ESS “The lyrics remain among the most powerful he’s ever written, his vocals emotional and soulful.” ESS“The song starts unambiguously, on the narrator’s wedding day, as the newlyweds share their first moment together.” ESS “But on a day when two people are supposed to be one, when you’re sure you know how your partner thinks and feels…she pulls away and you don’t fully understand why.” ESS The song makes one ask, “can we ever truly know someone except for the ways they wish to be known?” ESS “Does the narrator suspect his wife correctly, or is he just projecting his own fears and insecurities? Is she distancing himself from him, or is he distancing himself from her?” ESS Years later, Bruce said on VH-1 Storytellers, “I guess it sounds like a song of betrayal – who’s that person sleeping next to me, who am I? Do I know enough about myself to be honest with that person?” ESS “When the song came out, rumors and speculation immediately started about the state of Bruce’s marriage to Julianne Phillips. Bruce always denied that the song was autobiographical, but even if you accept the idea of someone writing about an experience so intimate without ever experiencing it, a detail like walking the world in wealth as a lonely pilgrim sure does conjure up the image of a successful touring rock star.” ESS
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Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: May to July 1987 at A&M Recoding Studios in Los Angeles; May to July 1987 (?) at Kren Studios in Hollywood Released: 2/27/1988 as a single, Tunnel of Love (1987), The Essential (2015) B-Side: “Roulette” First Charted: 12/12/1987 as an album cut Peak: 13 BB, 17 CB, 14 GR, 15 RR, 3 AC, 2 AR, 23 CN, 67 AU, 17 DF Click for codes to charts. Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 13.58 video, 20.54 streaming About the Song:EStreetShuffle.com calls this “one of the finest songs Bruce has ever written, and one of the most emotionally honest songs by anyone about the internal struggle that leads us astray from a relationship.” ESS “The lyrics are poetic, steeped in metaphor but with no trace of his usual tropes save for the ‘old Ford.’” ESS“The singer recognizes that he and his wife are caught in a self-destructive pattern. He’s self-aware enough to realize that their petty arguments aren’t worth winning if they mean they both lose in the long run, but he’s trapped in a cycle.” ESS It “was inspired by the inner conflict and dialogue that probably preoccupied him during that time, whether the events were literal or not.” ESS “The instrumental track is delicate, haunting, and not only supports the lyrics…it carries the story with equal weight.” ESS “Bruce plays every instrument on the track (guitar, bass, mandolin, keyboards, harmonica, percussion), and he’s precise in his layering, adding Patti’s backing vocals late in the song to (intentional? accidental?) devastating effect.” ESS
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When You’re AloneBruce Springsteen |
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to May 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: Tunnel of Love (1987) Peak: 27 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song:The exact recording date isn’t known for “When You’re Alone” but it feels connected to “Tunnel of Love,” which was the last song recorded for the album of the same name, and “One Step Up,” recorded shortly before that. He started out writing songs for the album that “skirted the periphery of marriage” ESS and ended up with songs that “zeroed in on the heart of relationships.” ESS “If we’re to read anything into the arc of Bruce’s songwriting, it would appear that over the course of the first half of the year, the reality of his dissolving marriage to Julianne Phillips had begun to sink in.” ESS“’When You’re Alone’ is stark, direct, and more than a little hard-hearted.” ESS “Uncharacteristically for Bruce, there’s not a trace of metaphor in ‘When You’re Alone,’ which renders it an easy song to analyze: everything’s on the surface. This is the story of a jilted lover whose ex later returns to him, and his reception is not a kind one.” ESS |
Valentine’s DayBruce Springsteen |
Writer(s): Bruce Springsteen Recorded: January to May 1987 at Thrill Hill East in Rumson, New Jersey Released: Tunnel of Love (1987) About the Song:“Buried–hidden almost–at the end of an album that primarily serves as a cautionary tale is one of Bruce’s most desperate and unabashedly romantic songs in his entire catalog.” ESS The narrator is moved by a friend’s devotion to his newborn child and realizes “that while he doesn’t have a child, he does have someone who fills life with the same color, the same vividness as his friend’s new child, and the power of that tie, that bond, pulls him homeward.” ESSLike much of the Tunnel of Love album from which it hails, ‘Valentine’s Day’ is a solo effort. Bruce plays every instrument we hear from the ambling, primary guitar melody to the layers of keyboard, mandolin, bass, harmonica and percussion.” ESS “The result is a carefully crafted song that gradually builds instrumental intensity that to match the lyrical desperation that’s there from the beginning.” ESS |
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First posted 3/23/2008; last updated 8/8/2025. |
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