{"id":3985,"date":"2018-08-27T05:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T12:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=3985"},"modified":"2022-12-28T06:27:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T14:27:13","slug":"codeofsilence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/27\/codeofsilence\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Code of Silence"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Quick, name the only live Springsteen performance to win a Grammy.<\/p>\n<p>Okay, that would probably be harder if you hadn&#8217;t already read the title of this post. But yeah, it&#8217;s not &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/07\/24\/cover-me-roll-of-the-dice-jersey-girl\/\">Jersey Girl<\/a>&#8221; or &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/27\/cover-me-war\/\">War<\/a>&#8221; or &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/24\/cover-me-santa-claus-is-comin-to-town\/\">Santa Claus is Comin&#8217; to Town<\/a>&#8221; or &#8220;American Skin (41 Shots)&#8221; or any of the other live recordings you&#8217;ll hear on the radio (other then E Street Radio, that is).<\/p>\n<p>In February 2005, the Grammy for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance went to &#8220;Code of Silence,&#8221; recorded live on June 29, 2000 and buried deep on the bonus disc included in the first run of\u00a0<em>The Essential Bruce Springsteen.<\/em><\/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\/qmliFFBFQAQ?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;Code of Silence&#8221; also carries another unusual distinction: it&#8217;s a rare instance of Bruce co-writing with a song with another artist. Bruce and Joe Grushecky wrote this song together in 1997, although neither of them chose to record or perform it at the time.<\/p>\n<p>When Bruce and the E Street Band were wrapping up their Reunion Tour in June of 2000, Bruce start to premiere some brand new songs, telegraphing to fans that he wasn&#8217;t done releasing new music. First came &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/01\/01\/roll-of-the-dice-further-on-up-the-road\/\">Further On (Up the Road)<\/a>&#8221; and &#8220;American Skin (41 Shots)&#8221; in Atlanta, and then at the very next show&#8211;the opening show of a ten-night closing stand at Madison Square Garden&#8211;Bruce opened the show with the debut of &#8220;Code of Silence.&#8221; (Bruce would debut one more Bruce\/Joe collaboration before the tour was done.)<\/p>\n<div id=\"v-HOWgJ2Ki-1\" class=\"video-player\"><iframe title='VideoPress Video Player' aria-label='VideoPress Video Player' width='758' height='426' src='https:\/\/videopress.com\/embed\/HOWgJ2Ki?hd=1&amp;cover=1&amp;loop=0&amp;autoPlay=0&amp;permalink=1&amp;muted=0&amp;controls=1&amp;playsinline=0&amp;useAverageColor=0&amp;preloadContent=metadata' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen data-resize-to-parent=\"true\" allow='clipboard-write'><\/iframe><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" src='https:\/\/s0.wp.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/video\/assets\/js\/next\/videopress-iframe.js'><\/script><\/div>\n<p>The song was received by fans enthusiastically, and Bruce ended up playing it in eight shows of that final ten-night stand.<\/p>\n<p>Bruce brought it back for two outings on the Rising tour (one of them, unsurprisingly, in Pittsburgh, where he and Joe played the song together for the first time).\u00a0From there, &#8220;Code of Silence&#8221; has remained surprisingly obscure, showing up only at benefits or when playing or guest-starring with Grushecky.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Code of Silence&#8221; is so fierce, so strong, that you might not even realize for a few listens that there are surprisingly very few lyrics. The song is essentially a scream of frustration by a lover feeling increasingly disconnected from his partner, trying desperately to bridge the widening gulf and scale the growing wall&#8211;but ultimately, he&#8217;s just as complicit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>There&#8217;s a code of silence that we don&#8217;t dare speak<\/em><br \/>\n<em>There&#8217;s a wall between us and a river so deep<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And we keep pretending that there&#8217;s nothing wrong<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Man, there&#8217;s a code of silence and it can&#8217;t go on<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Well, s the truth so elusive, so elusive you see<\/em><br \/>\n<em>That it ain&#8217;t enough, baby, to bridge the distance between you and me<\/em><br \/>\n<em>There&#8217;s a list of grievance a hundred miles long<\/em><br \/>\n<em>There&#8217;s a code of silence and it can&#8217;t go on<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>Well you walk with your eyes open<\/em><br \/>\n<em>But your lips they remain sealed<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Beneath the promises we made are broken<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Someday the truth will be revealed<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Well I need to know now darlin&#8217;<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I need to know what&#8217;s going on<\/em><br \/>\n<em>So come on, come on, come on, come on<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Come on, come on, come on<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Nothing happens in &#8220;Code of Silence,&#8221; and nothing is resolved&#8211;the song is merely and powerfully a depiction of what it feels like to be caught and drowning in that &#8220;river so deep.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In 2006, after the song won a Grammy, Bruce and Joe finally released a studio version of &#8220;Code of Silence&#8221; &#8212; but it was on one of Joe&#8217;s albums rather than one of Bruce&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p>The arrangement is identical, the vocals are clearer, and the song is just as ferocious as ever. Here&#8217;s Joe and Bruce together on &#8220;Code of Silence&#8221; from Joe&#8217;s\u00a0<em>A Good Life<\/em> album.<\/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\/yi4UJ5_Fd6E?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><strong>Code of Silence<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Recorded:<\/strong> June 29, 2000 (live version)<br \/>\n<strong>Released:\u00a0<\/strong><em>The Essential Bruce Springsteen\u00a0<\/em>(2003, live version),\u00a0<em>A Good Life\u00a0<\/em>(2006, studio version)<br \/>\n<strong>First performed:\u00a0<\/strong>June 12, 2000 (New York City, NY)<br \/>\n<strong>Last performed:\u00a0<\/strong>July 18, 2015 (Asbury Park, NJ)<\/p>\n<p>Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our <a href=\"http:\/\/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>&#8220;Code of Silence&#8221; is Bruce&#8217;s only live recording to win a Grammy, but his studio version with Joe Grushecky is pretty great, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_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}},"categories":[3],"tags":[1527,1530,56,1405],"class_list":["post-3985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roll-of-the-dice","tag-a-good-life","tag-code-of-silence","tag-joe-grushecky","tag-the-essential-bruce-springsteen"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/shh.jpg?fit=900%2C919&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-12h","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":29192,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/08\/17\/matr-joe-grushecky-and-bruce-springsteen-is-she-the-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":3985,"position":0},"title":"Is She The One","author":"Ken","date":"August 17, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce contributed harmony vocals and a guitar riff to this bright, happy track from Joe's 2006 album.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Great&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Great","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/great\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23951,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1988\/02\/27\/matr-joe-grushecky-and-bruce-springsteen-a-good-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":3985,"position":1},"title":"A Good Life","author":"Ken","date":"February 27, 1988","format":false,"excerpt":"In their first studio collaboration since American Babylon, Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen sing the joys of domesticity.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cover Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cover Me","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/cover-me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/goodlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62959,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/04\/kingdom-of-days-december-4-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3985,"position":2},"title":"Kingdom of Days: December 4","author":"Ken","date":"December 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ties That Bind: The River Collection was released on this day in 2015. Other highlights from this date: guest appearances from Joe Grushecky, Tom Morello, and Mike Ness, rare River Tour footage, and more.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kingdom of Days&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kingdom of Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/tiesthatbindbox-e1540475420191.jpeg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/tiesthatbindbox-e1540475420191.jpeg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/tiesthatbindbox-e1540475420191.jpeg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59550,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/05\/kingdom-of-days-september-5-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3985,"position":3},"title":"Kingdom of Days: September 5","author":"Ken","date":"September 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A guest appearance on stage with The Pretenders and on record with Joe Grushecky lead today's highlights, along with a stunner of a rainout make-up show in Virginia Beach.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kingdom of Days&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kingdom of Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/19880904_2_front.jpg?fit=715%2C709&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/19880904_2_front.jpg?fit=715%2C709&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/19880904_2_front.jpg?fit=715%2C709&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/19880904_2_front.jpg?fit=715%2C709&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61366,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/14\/kingdom-of-days-november-14-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3985,"position":4},"title":"Kingdom of Days: November 14","author":"Ken","date":"November 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Streets of Fire\" returns after almost a quarter-century, \"Youngstown\" gets Seeger-fied, and more.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Kingdom of Days&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Kingdom of Days","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/kingdom-of-days\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20061114_front.jpg?fit=711%2C703&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20061114_front.jpg?fit=711%2C703&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20061114_front.jpg?fit=711%2C703&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/20061114_front.jpg?fit=711%2C703&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":25187,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/03\/12\/rotd-matr-joe-grushecky-and-bruce-springsteen-idiots-delight\/","url_meta":{"origin":3985,"position":5},"title":"RotD\/MatR: Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen: Idiot&#8217;s Delight","author":"Ken","date":"March 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce and Joe Grushecky wrote this under-the-radar song together in the summer of '95; it keeps popping up in new forms ever since.","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\/03\/idiot.jpg?fit=1200%2C933&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/idiot.jpg?fit=1200%2C933&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/idiot.jpg?fit=1200%2C933&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/idiot.jpg?fit=1200%2C933&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/idiot.jpg?fit=1200%2C933&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985","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=3985"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40184,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985\/revisions\/40184"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}