Brilliant Disguise
| "Brilliant Disguise" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Bruce Springsteen | ||||||||||
| from the album Tunnel of Love | ||||||||||
| B-side | "Lucky Man" | |||||||||
| Released | October 3, 1987 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" single, 12" | |||||||||
| Recorded | April 1987 at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen's home studio) | |||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||||||||
| Length | 4:13 | |||||||||
| Label | Columbia | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Bruce Springsteen | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Plotkin | |||||||||
| Bruce Springsteen singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Brilliant Disguise" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 album Tunnel of Love. It was released as the first single from the album, reaching the #5 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States. The follow-up single, "Tunnel of Love", also reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, giving Springsteen two consecutive #1's. The single had less commercial success in other countries.
Like much of the Tunnel of Love album, "Brilliant Disguise" 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 keyboards (where the 40th Roland D-50 internal patch "Rock Organ" was heard), Danny Federici on organ and Max Weinberg on drums.
The lyrics of "Brilliant Disguise" represent a confession of self-doubt on the part of the singer. The emotions expressed in the song include confusion, jealousy and anxiety about whether the singer's wife has become a stranger to him. The song deals with the masks people wear and the bitterness that can ensue when we realize the darkness that may lie behind those masks. The analogies to Springsteen's personal life at the time are evident: he had recently married then-model and actress Julianne Phillips, and the two would divorce in 1988. The references to marital problems are quite direct, as in the lyrics:
"Oh, we stood at the altar The gypsy swore our future was bright But come the wee wee hours Well maybe, baby, the gypsy lied."
The song's quiet power builds slowly. The sound is scaled back from the typical E Street Band sound. The singer struggles to do things right, but it doesn't help. He can't trust either himself or his wife. Both he and his wife continue to play their roles - he of a "faithful man", she of a "loving woman", but the singer is nonetheless wracked with self-doubt. A key line towards the end of the song:
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