The music video for "Livin' on the Edge" was directed by American director Marty Callner and features actor Edward Furlong.

It depicts vandalism, grand theft auto, joyriding, airbag crashing, unprotected sex, violence among school-aged youth, cross-dressing teachers, a naked Steven Tyler holding a zipper by his crotch with half his body painted black (to give the effect he pulled down a zipper, unzipping his body) and lead guitarist Joe Perry playing a lead guitar solo in front of an oncoming McCloud River Railroad freight train.

Reviewing Get a Grip for Rolling Stone, Mark Coleman cited "Livin' on the Edge" as an example of the album "playing it safe according to strict late-Eighties directives", and added that it "ascends into a soaring, Bon Jovi-esque power chorale; only the gritty guitars on the bridge keep the damn thing grounded.

During the Get a Grip Tour, the band performed a portion of "She Cried" (a song recorded by Jay and the Americans, among other artists) as the intro to "Livin' on the Edge".

Additionally, the band performed the song as part of its set at the United We Stand benefit concert, held in Washington, D.C. shortly after the September 11 attacks.