This was inspired by the amusement rides on the boardwalk of Asbury Park, New Jersey, where Springsteen hung out and gigged growing up. He used the "Tunnel Of Love" ride as a metaphor for the ups and downs of a relationship. He was having problems with his first marriage at the time, and would later divorce Julianne Phillips.
This is the title track to an album Springsteen recorded mostly by himself in his home studio in Rumson, New Jersey. One of the last songs recorded for Tunnel Of Love, Springsteen liked the title enough to use it as the name of the album.
The amusement park that helped inspire this is over 100 years old. It is in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
