Brilliant Disguise

Springsteen sings this one from the viewpoint of a man who is conflicted over a romantic relationship. He confronts his partner, asking if she's just playing the part of a faithful woman and wondering if she's simply put on a brilliant disguise. Later in the song, he turns the tables, letting her know that he might be faking it as well. Although he claims the song is not directly autobiographical, Springsteen was having problems in his marriage to his first wife, the actress Julianne Phillips, and they divorced soon after.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, Springsteen described this as "a different kind of love song," with lots of nuance. He said the Tunnel Of Love album as a whole is meant to take in "the different types of emotional experiences of any relationship where you are really engaging with that other person and not involved in a narcissistic romantic fantasy."

When his marriage to Julianne Phillips came to a close, Springsteen took up with Patti Scialfa, a singer in his E Street Band. They had their first child together in 1990 (a year after his divorce was finalized) and married in 1991. This marriage went the distance, and led Bruce to a different interpretation of "Brilliant Disguise." On his 2005 Storytellers appearance, he explained how he used to enjoy going to strip clubs around the time he wrote this song, and then he brought out Scialfa to sing it with him. Said Bruce: "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? But a funny thing happens: songs shift their meanings when you sing them, they shift their meanings in time, they shift their meanings with who you sing them with. When you sing this song with someone you love, it turns into something else."