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 1987 with several members of the E Street Band. 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 a family riding a roller coaster in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. 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, 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". The song was later released on the compilation albumThe 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 and the Single of the Year in 1987 by Rolling Stone.
Music 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.
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 performancesin concert. It received renewed attention on the 2007–2008 Magic Tour as a showcase for Patti Scialfa's singing and Nils Lofgren's guitar work.
