{"id":30734,"date":"2021-11-30T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=30734"},"modified":"2023-01-03T06:47:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-03T14:47:00","slug":"roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bruce Springsteen released &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/06\/roll-of-the-dice-brilliant-disguise\/\">Brilliant Disguise<\/a>&#8221; in October 1987, but he apparently didn&#8217;t finish writing it for another two years after that.<\/p>\n<p>Because &#8220;Trouble in Paradise&#8221; is most definitely the period at the end of his earlier song&#8217;s sentence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"758\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iaasO-GTR24?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Trouble in Paradise&#8221; began its life as a Don Henley song. Or rather, as a Roy Bittan song, who wrote the music with Henley in mind, according to Brian Hiatt in <em>Stories Behind the Songs<\/em>. It sounds that way, too&#8211;this is a track that bears little to no musical resemblance to any other song in Bruce&#8217;s catalog. Like many of the songs on <em>Human Touch<\/em>, &#8220;Trouble in Paradise&#8221; is synth-forward, but with sparer instrumentation, a more understated production and a late-eighties soft rock feel.<\/p>\n<p>One of three tracks Roy brought to Bruce during a period of writer&#8217;s block, &#8220;Trouble in Paradise&#8221; is also the only one of the three to be cast off Bruce&#8217;s <em>Human Touch\u00a0<\/em>album. (It wouldn&#8217;t see release until\u00a0<em>Tracks<\/em> in 1998.) If I had to hazard a guess, I&#8217;d speculate that&#8217;s because the lyrics Bruce wrote for it look backwards, making it out of step with his forward-looking 1992 albums.<\/p>\n<p>It sure makes a great bookend to his previous album, though. <a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/08\/album-companion-tunnel-of-love\/\"><em>Tunnel of Love<\/em><\/a> gets an unfair rap as a divorce album; it would be more accurate to call it a concept album that explores the stages and varieties of loving relationships. But there&#8217;s no denying that the album&#8217;s second side is a journey through the fraying of a relationship, the centerpiece of which is the exquisite &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/06\/roll-of-the-dice-brilliant-disguise\/\">Brilliant Disguise<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Brilliant Disguise&#8221; foreshadows, predicts and even rhymes with &#8220;Trouble in Paradise.&#8221;\u00a0Bruce sets his earlier song in newlywed days, where mystery gives way to insecurity and doubt. Seeds of dissolution sown here are in full flower by &#8220;Trouble in Paradise.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The later song takes place if not in the aftermath of a marriage at least in the aftermath of a betrayal. Like he does in &#8220;Brilliant Disguise,&#8221; Bruce writes from the perspective of a distanced lover in a relationship, in this case one rocked by infidelity&#8211;but as to whether our narrator is the cheater or the cheated on, Bruce is deliberately inscrutable.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>You do the drying, I&#8217;ll do the dishes<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Who&#8217;ll do the crying when all the wishes don&#8217;t come true<\/em><br \/>\n<em>You do the washing, I&#8217;ll do the folding<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Whose heart is breaking when whose arms are holding someone new<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Sitting on a peaceful lake sunning<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Didn&#8217;t hear the roar of the waterfall coming<\/em><br \/>\n<em>When it&#8217;s all a storybook story<\/em><br \/>\n<em>When it&#8217;s all so easy and nice<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Here comes trouble in paradise<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Bruce introduces us to a couple going through the motions of a marriage. They do the dishes together, and the laundry. They do the dusting and the sweeping.<\/p>\n<p>What they don&#8217;t do is <em>talk<\/em>. There&#8217;s a cold emotional distance and disconnection in the room, at stark contrast with Bittan&#8217;s warm backing track. Bruce wastes no time telling us why: one lover&#8217;s heart is broken because the other&#8217;s arms are holding someone new.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Trouble in Paradise&#8221; isn&#8217;t about the effects of adultery, though. It&#8217;s about the roots of it, the missed signals, and our blindness to it. How could we be in trouble, when everything about us seems perfect?<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>You did the dusting, I did the sweeping<\/em><br \/>\n<em>You did the driving and I did the sleeping a little too long<\/em><br \/>\n<em>On a picnic &#8216;neath the sky so blue<\/em><br \/>\n<em>We didn&#8217;t see the rain and heartache coming through<\/em><br \/>\n<em>When it&#8217;s all an old black and white movie<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And you&#8217;re sure you&#8217;ve seen the ending twice<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Here comes trouble in paradise<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the second verse, the narrator hints that he missed the signs, although it&#8217;s still unclear whether he failed to pay attention to his own heart or his spouse&#8217;s. Is he the betrayer or the betrayed? Did he fail to see his partner straying or not recognize his own restlessness and dissatisfaction?<\/p>\n<p>Either way, Bruce ends the verse with a clever meta-metaphor, comparing their marriage to the old 1932 Lubitsch movie&#8211;simultaneously establishing the song&#8217;s theme and title reference while illustrating how we assume that happy endings are as much a given in real life as they are in the cinema. They&#8217;re not, of course, so even when we do see the signs of a train bearing down the track at us, we assume a last minute diversion that doesn&#8217;t come. (It&#8217;s also one of Bruce&#8217;s favorite tropes, appropriating the name of an old film to serve double duty as his song title.)<\/p>\n<p>Like many of Bruce&#8217;s best songs, the heart of &#8220;Trouble in Paradise&#8221; can be found in its bridge, which features Bruce voicing a suddenly vulnerable narrator in a vocal so heightened, anguished and soulful that it would make Sam and Dave proud.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>You said everything was fine<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I&#8217;m sorry baby I didn&#8217;t see the signs<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Oh so beautifully you read your lines<\/em><br \/>\n<em>In a play where the hero has no vice<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And love comes without a price<\/em><br \/>\n<em>So does trouble in paradise<\/em><\/p>\n<p>And it&#8217;s those last lines that pack the song&#8217;s power: <em>in a play where the hero has no vice and love comes without a price, so does trouble in paradise.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We all have flaws, and love takes work to sustain. When we&#8217;re blind to the former and na\u00efve about the latter, our relationships are ticking time bombs. We want to be loved, but we need to feel seen for that love to feel authentic. And when one lover feels they&#8217;re going through the motions and acting a part, that&#8217;s a signal of trouble building.<\/p>\n<p>These lyrics reference key lines from &#8220;Brilliant Disguise:&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Now you play the loving woman, I\u2019ll play the faithful man<\/em><br \/>\n<em>But just don\u2019t look too close into the palm of my hand<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In both songs, Bruce writes of the long-term dangers of presenting yourself inauthentically, even if done so out of the best of motives&#8211;to be who we think our partner wants us to be.<\/p>\n<p>Bruce&#8217;s earlier narrator knew this:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>So when you look at me you better look hard and look twice<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Is that me baby or just a brilliant disguise<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Am I the person you think I am,<\/em> he asks. <em>Do I let you see my true self? Do I shield you from my fears and doubts? Or am I protecting myself?\u00a0<\/em>The earlier narrator asks these questions, and the later one answers them.<\/p>\n<p>Bruce still hasn&#8217;t hinted at who&#8217;s the betrayer in the relationship, though, and in the last verse he tells us why:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Don&#8217;t matter who did the dusting, who did the sweeping<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Who did the trusting or who did the cheating when it&#8217;s all gone<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Laying in a field on a summer&#8217;s day<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Waiting for those gray skies to clear away<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Knowing all love&#8217;s glory and beauty<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Can vanish before you think twice<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Leaving trouble in paradise<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Bruce is deliberately vague because (he argues) blame doesn&#8217;t matter. Passivity can be as much at fault as action. Blind trust can be indistinguishable from complacency, and it can keep us from holding up our end of a relationship.<\/p>\n<p>When we take our wedding vows, we promise to love and cherish, honor and hold, trust and respect, care and comfort. We don&#8217;t usually pledge to talk and listen, though. It seems too obvious. But it&#8217;s the root of connection, and when connection fades, the relationship has a half-life at best.<\/p>\n<p>In &#8220;Brilliant Disguise&#8221; the narrator is a ball of hot-wire insecurities trapped in his own head because he can&#8217;t bring himself to talk to his partner; in &#8220;Trouble in Paradise,&#8221; we might be listening to the same character, now paying the price for his failure to communicate. And as if to drive home the connection, Bruce ends &#8220;Trouble in Paradise&#8221; with a coda that echoes one of his most memorable song endings:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Now we share the laughing, we share the joking<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Oh we do the sleeping with one eye open<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Our couple hasn&#8217;t split yet, but they&#8217;re definitely broken. They\u00a0<em>may<\/em> be healing, though, because for the first time, they aren&#8217;t dividing their duties to each other&#8211; they&#8217;re sharing them.<\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;re both telling jokes, and they&#8217;re each laughing at the other. It&#8217;s a small step, but it&#8217;s at least a first one, and it ends the song with a faint glimmer of hope. But like Bruce reminded us earlier, life isn&#8217;t a movie, and happy endings don&#8217;t come easy.<\/p>\n<p>Bruce&#8217;s last line is a brilliant one, because it operates simultaneously on two levels. Taken literally, it reflects the broken trust that may never be fully repaired; read metaphorically, however, it&#8217;s a more hopeful reference to Bruce&#8217;s earlier confession that he &#8220;did the sleeping a little too long.&#8221; In other words, it&#8217;s a promise to not let each other fall asleep on the job&#8211;to keep an eye out for the signals of a relationship sailing toward troubled waters before they arrive.<\/p>\n<p>Because once we start to distance, the masks come on, trust frays, and doubt creeps in.<\/p>\n<p>And when we start doubting what we&#8217;re sure of, God have mercy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trouble in Paradise<br \/>\nRecorded:<\/strong> December 1, 1989<br \/>\n<strong>Released:\u00a0<\/strong><em>Tracks<\/em> (1998)<br \/>\n<strong>Never performed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/roll-of-the-dice-album-by-album\/\">full index<\/a>. New entries every week!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This understated, underrated 1989 outtake puts a period at the end of &#8220;Brilliant Disguise.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[274,188,3341],"class_list":["post-30734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roll-of-the-dice","tag-brilliant-disguise","tag-tracks","tag-trouble-in-paradise"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 5.0.3 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ken\"\/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 5.0.3\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"fb:app_id\" content=\"506162303136980\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"fb:admins\" content=\"358461094680441\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:secure_url\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"810\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"626\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-30T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-03T14:47:00+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/estreetshuffleblog\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Krosen\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#article\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle\",\"headline\":\"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/#author\"},\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#person\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/troublepar.jpg?fit=810%2C626&ssl=1\",\"width\":810,\"height\":626},\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-30T05:00:00-08:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-03T06:47:00-08:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"commentCount\":1,\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#webpage\"},\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#webpage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Roll of the Dice, Brilliant Disguise, Tracks, Trouble in Paradise\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#breadcrumblist\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/category\\\/roll-of-the-dice\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/category\\\/roll-of-the-dice\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/category\\\/roll-of-the-dice\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise\",\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/category\\\/roll-of-the-dice\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#person\",\"name\":\"Ken\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#personImage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d037d3a05b6c9e4ee09ccdf24f113649cbc6f244d3e0a5706ee0a42186f079dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"width\":96,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"Ken\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/#author\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ken\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#authorImage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d037d3a05b6c9e4ee09ccdf24f113649cbc6f244d3e0a5706ee0a42186f079dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"width\":96,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"Ken\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#breadcrumblist\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/#author\"},\"creator\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ken\\\/#author\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/troublepar.jpg?fit=810%2C626&ssl=1\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#mainImage\",\"width\":810,\"height\":626},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/30\\\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\\\/#mainImage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-30T05:00:00-08:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-03T06:47:00-08:00\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"E Street Shuffle\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#person\"}}]}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO -->\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle","description":"","canonical_url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#article","name":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle","headline":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/#author"},"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#person"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg?fit=810%2C626&ssl=1","width":810,"height":626},"datePublished":"2021-11-30T05:00:00-08:00","dateModified":"2023-01-03T06:47:00-08:00","inLanguage":"en-US","commentCount":1,"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#webpage"},"articleSection":"Roll of the Dice, Brilliant Disguise, Tracks, Trouble in Paradise"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#listItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/#listItem","name":"Roll of the Dice"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/#listItem","position":2,"name":"Roll of the Dice","item":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#listItem","name":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise"},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#listItem","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#listItem","position":3,"name":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise","previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/#listItem","name":"Roll of the Dice"}}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#person","name":"Ken","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#personImage","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d037d3a05b6c9e4ee09ccdf24f113649cbc6f244d3e0a5706ee0a42186f079dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","width":96,"height":96,"caption":"Ken"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/#author","url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/","name":"Ken","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#authorImage","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d037d3a05b6c9e4ee09ccdf24f113649cbc6f244d3e0a5706ee0a42186f079dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","width":96,"height":96,"caption":"Ken"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/","name":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#breadcrumblist"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/#author"},"creator":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/author\/ken\/#author"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg?fit=810%2C626&ssl=1","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#mainImage","width":810,"height":626},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/#mainImage"},"datePublished":"2021-11-30T05:00:00-08:00","dateModified":"2023-01-03T06:47:00-08:00"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/","name":"E Street Shuffle","inLanguage":"en-US","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#person"}}]},"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"E Street Shuffle","og:type":"article","og:title":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle","og:url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/","fb:app_id":"506162303136980","fb:admins":"358461094680441","og:image":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg","og:image:secure_url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg","og:image:width":810,"og:image:height":626,"article:published_time":"2021-11-30T13:00:00+00:00","article:modified_time":"2023-01-03T14:47:00+00:00","article:publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/estreetshuffleblog\/","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:site":"@Krosen","twitter:title":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise | E Street Shuffle","twitter:image":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"30734","title":null,"description":null,"keywords":[],"keyphrases":{"focus":{"keyphrase":"","score":0,"analysis":{"keyphraseInTitle":{"score":0,"maxScore":9,"error":1}}},"additional":[]},"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"article","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":"","og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":[],"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"Article","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":"default","schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":"-1","robots_max_videopreview":"-1","robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":"default","local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":null,"created":"2022-07-07 02:57:15","updated":"2025-06-04 21:17:46","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null,"focus_keyword":null,"additional_keywords":null,"truseo_locale":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/\" title=\"Roll of the Dice\">Roll of the Dice<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">\u00bb<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tRoll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/"},{"label":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},{"label":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble in Paradise","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-in-paradise\/"}],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-7ZI","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19327,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/12\/roll-of-the-dice-over-the-rise\/","url_meta":{"origin":30734,"position":0},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Over the Rise","author":"Ken","date":"July 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Mining similar earth as some of his earlier classics without offering anything new, \"Over the Rise\" still manages to position itself as one of Bruce's more revealing songs.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/overrise.jpg?fit=1105%2C737&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/overrise.jpg?fit=1105%2C737&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/overrise.jpg?fit=1105%2C737&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/overrise.jpg?fit=1105%2C737&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/overrise.jpg?fit=1105%2C737&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26516,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/15\/roll-of-the-dice-leavin-train\/","url_meta":{"origin":30734,"position":1},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Leavin&#8217; Train","author":"Ken","date":"April 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This retread of \"Brilliant Disguise\" (with a bit of \"I'm Goin' Down\") adds nothing original to Bruce's catalog. Cool backing track, though.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/94845279_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/94845279_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/94845279_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/94845279_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/94845279_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15843,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-when-you-need-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":30734,"position":2},"title":"Roll of the Dice: When You Need Me","author":"Ken","date":"January 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\"When You Need Me\" was one of the first songs Bruce recorded for Tunnel of Love, but given the direction of the final album, this pop trifle never stood a chance.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/needme.jpg?fit=466%2C583&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7788,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/05\/roll-of-the-dice-trouble-river\/","url_meta":{"origin":30734,"position":3},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Trouble River","author":"Ken","date":"March 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Undeservedly obscure, \"Trouble River\" is a fun Human Touch-era soul rocker with deceptively dark lyrics and a long, terrific guitar solo from Bruce--this one needs more attention.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Trouble-in-River-City.jpeg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5339,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/24\/roll-of-the-dice-my-lover-man\/","url_meta":{"origin":30734,"position":4},"title":"Roll of the Dice: My Lover Man","author":"Ken","date":"October 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, \"My Lover Man\" is a controversial song, but not because of the point-of-view character's gender.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/How-to-be-a-Latin-Lover-850.jpg?fit=850%2C850&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/How-to-be-a-Latin-Lover-850.jpg?fit=850%2C850&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/How-to-be-a-Latin-Lover-850.jpg?fit=850%2C850&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/How-to-be-a-Latin-Lover-850.jpg?fit=850%2C850&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1462,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/07\/roll-of-the-dice-30-days-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":30734,"position":5},"title":"Roll of the Dice: 30 Days Out","author":"Ken","date":"April 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A Human Touch outtake stronger than much of that album, \"30 Days Out\" deserves an official album release.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Roll of the Dice&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Roll of the Dice","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/roll-of-the-dice\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30days.png?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/troublepar.jpg?fit=810%2C626&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30734"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40583,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30734\/revisions\/40583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}