Roll of the Dice: Ruled by the Gun

On the heels of the River Tour, firearms showed up with surprising frequency as Bruce started working on what would become his Nebraska album. We’ve looked at “Bells of San Salvador” recently, along with “Under the Gun.” And of course, there’s the deadly incident that earns “Johnny 99” his nickname.

But as 1981 turned to 1982, Bruce started to really mine the theme with his acoustic home demos of “Ruled by the Gun,” which appear to have been recorded around the same time Bruce was working on “Murder Incorporated” for the band.

There are two home demos of “Ruled by the Gun” circulating in the wild, and both are unfortunately heavily bluffed. Still, we can make out enough of the lyrics to clearly recognize Bruce’s theme.

In the outtake above, Bruce sings:

Every where I look I see people crying
Every step I take I see young men dying
On the cathedral steps in the sun
In a world ruled by gun

You can build your walls, build ’em high baby
Brick by brick, one by one
Broke your fences in half
Till they reach the sun
In a world ruled by the gun

The cathedral steps reference suggest a linkage to “Bells of San Salvador,” but in “Ruled by the Gun” Bruce seems to be searching for a song that’s more universal than about a particular ripped-from-the-headlines tragedy.

In this next, longer outtake, Bruce’s lyrics are more confident, and he’s refining his music as well.

There’s a new third verse now, one that seems to almost evoke “Murder Incorporated.”

I swore I’d find a place I could hide
I looked high and low but I couldn’t find none
In a world ruled by the gun

It’s possible that “Bells of San Salvador,” “Ruled by the Gun” and “Murder Incorporated” all stem from a single bothersome thread Bruce couldn’t keep from pulling.

Only “Murder Incorporated” would see an official release, however, and even that would take more than a decade from its original recording. A few years after that, though, another ripped-from-the-headlines gun tragedy captured Bruce’s attention, and this time he followed the thread all the way to one of his very best songs.

But that’s a topic for another day.

Bonus: Here’s an additional outtake of “Ruled by the Gun.” No lyrics in this one, just some harmonies and guitar.

Ruled by the Gun
Recorded: September 1981 – May 1982 (demos only)
Never released
Never performed

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