Bruce Springsteen

Released: October 9, 1987

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Producer: Chuck Plotkin Bruce Springsteen Jon Landau

[Verse 1]
Woke up this morning, the house was cold
Checked the furnace, she wasn't burnin'
Went out and hopped in my old Ford
Hit the engine but she ain't turnin'
We've given each other some hard lessons lately
But we ain't learnin'
We're the same sad story, that's a fact
One step up and two steps back

[Verse 2]
Bird on a wire outside my motel room
But he ain't singin'
Girl in white outside a church in June
But the church bells, they ain't ringing
I'm sittin' here in this bar tonight
But all I'm thinkin' is
I'm the same old story, same old act
One step up and two steps back

[Verse 3]
It's the same thing night on night
Who's wrong, baby? Who's right?
Another fight and I slam the door on
Another battle in our dirty little war
When I look at myself I don't see
The man I wanted to be
Somewhere along the line I slipped off track
I'm caught movin' one step up and two steps back

[Verse 4]
There's a girl across the bar
I get the message she's sendin'
Mmm she ain't lookin' too married
And me, well, honey I'm pretending
Last night I dreamed I held you in my arms
The music was never-ending
We danced as the evening sky faded to black
One step up and two steps back
One step up and two steps back
One step up and two steps back

[Outro]
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh
Ooh

Bruce Springsteen is a rock ‘n’ roll icon from the great state of New Jersey. Nicknamed “The Boss,” he’s known for spirited sax-powered anthems about working-class people making their way in the world. Backed by the trusty E Street Band, he’s sold more than 120 million records, won numerous awards (including 20 Grammys and an Oscar), sold out stadiums around the globe, and earned a place alongside his teenage heroes in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Although he’s a living legend who ranks among the most important artists in rock history, Springsteen wasn’t an overnight success. Around the time of his first album, 1973’s Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., he was dismissed as just another “new Dylan"—some scruffy folk singer with a decent vocabulary looking to follow in Bob’s footsteps. In the decade that followed, Springsteen proved himself to be much more.

His breakthrough came with his third album, 1975’s Born to Run. The record hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and landed the singer-songwriter on the cover of both Time and Newsweek. Bruce nabbed his first chart-topping album five years later with The River, and in 1984, he went global with Born in the U.S.A., a critical and commercial smash that produced seven Top 10 singles.

more tracks from the album

Tunnel of Love

From the album

Tunnel of Love (1987)

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Tunnel of Love