Tunnel Of Love

"Tunnel of Love" is a 1980 rock song by Dire Straits. It appears on the album Making Movies, and subsequently on the live albums Alchemy and Live at the BBC and the greatest hits albums Money for Nothing, Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits, and The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations. It reached the position of only #54 in the UK Singles Chart upon its single release in October 1981, despite being one of the band's most famous and popular songs. Two music videos exist for the song, one depicting Mark Knopfler, John Illsley and Pick Withers performing on a blank set, intercut with imagery and actors relevant to the lyrics, the other featuring a larger band arrangement and telling the story of a couple escaping a group of soldiers who chase them from a funfair. The Spanish City in the song was a fairground located in Whitley Bay, part of the North Sea coast to the north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne, one train stop along from Cullercoats as mentioned in the song. The term "Rockaway" references Rockaway Beach in New York City, the location of the Rockaways' Playland amusement park. In 1980s concerts, Dire Straits played the central theme of The Animals' "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" during an extended instrumental introduction to the song, as Knopfler talked about that group's hometown of Newcastle. Knopfler's outro solo has received numerous plaudits over the years and has many times been described[by whom?] as one of the most heartbreaking guitar solos in history. "Tunnel of Love" is one of only three Dire Straits songs not written by Mark Knopfler alone (the other two are "Money for Nothing" and "What's The Matter Baby?"). The song itself is entirely by Knopfler, but the opening instrumental is an arrangement of the "Carousel Waltz" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel. The song is referred to in the novel So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams.[2]: "Mark Knopfler has an extraordinary ability to make a Schecter Custom Stratocaster hoot and sing like angels on a Saturday night, exhausted from being good all week and needing a stiff drink." It was also used during the film An Officer and a Gentleman. The song is sampled in John Legend's "I Love, You Love" on his 2008 Evolver album.

[Instrumental Intro: "The Carousel Waltz"] [Verse 1] Getting crazy on the waltzers But it's the life that I choose Hey, sing about the sixblade, sing about the switchback And a torture tattoo And I've been riding on a ghost train Where the cars they scream and slam And I don't know where I'll be tonight But I'd always tell you where I am In a screaming ring of faces I've seen her standing in the light She had a ticket for the races, yeah Just like me she was a victim of the night I put a hand upon the lever Said: "Let it rock and let it roll" I had the one arm bandit fever There was an arrow through my heart and my soul [Chorus 1] And the big wheel keep on turning Neon burning up above And I'm just high on the world Come on and take a low ride with me girl On the tunnel of love Yeah, love [Verse 2] It's just the danger, danger when you're riding at your own risk She said: "You are the perfect stranger" She said: "Baby, let's keep it like this" It's just a cake walk, twisting baby, yeah, step right up and say: "Hey Mister, give me two, give me two now, 'cos any two can play" [Chorus 1] And the big wheel keep on turning Neon burning up above And I'm just high on the world Come on and take a low ride with me girl On the tunnel of love Oh, love, love [Bridge] Well, it's been money for muscle on another whirligig Money for muscle and another girl I dig Another hustle just to, just to make it big And rockaway, rockaway Oh, rockaway, rockaway [Chorus 2] And girl, it looks so pretty to me Like it always did Oh, like the Spanish City to me When-a we were kids Hey girl, it looks so pretty to me Just like it always did Oh, like the Spanish City to me When-a we were kids Check it out! [Instrumental Bridge] [Verse 3] She took off a silver locket She said: "Remember me by this" She put her hand in my pocket I got a keepsake and a kiss And in the roar of dust and diesel I stood and watched her walk away I could have caught up with her easy enough But something must have made me stay [Chorus 1] And the big wheel keep on turning Neon burning up above And I'm just high on the world Come on and take a low ride with me girl On the tunnel of love Yeah, love, love, love On the tunnel of love Oh, love, love [Verse 4] And now I'm searching through these carousels and the carnival arcades Searching everywhere from steeplechase to palisades In any shooting gallery where promises are made To rockaway, rockaway Rockaway, rockaway From Cullercoats and Whitley Bay Out to rockaway [Chorus 2] And girl, it looks so pretty to me Like it always did Like the Spanish City to me When we were kids Girl, it looks so pretty to me Like it always did Like the Spanish City to me When we were kids [Instrumental Outro]