{"id":4774,"date":"2018-10-04T04:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T12:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=4774"},"modified":"2021-11-26T11:27:56","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T19:27:56","slug":"roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Spin<\/em>&nbsp;described it as &#8220;a widescreen melodrama about a cashier crush that for sheer overkill rivals Adam Sandler\u2019s&nbsp;<i>Broooce<\/i>&nbsp;parody &#8216;Lunchlady Land.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;<em>Seattle Times <\/em>bemoaned the&nbsp;&#8220;disco strings, mounting backing vocals and pounding drums [that] turn it into a Broadway number.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;<em>Philadelphia Inquirer <\/em>said it <em>&#8220;<\/em>just might be the worst song Springsteen has ever released on a studio album<em>.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Bruce Springsteen&#8217;s &#8220;Queen of the Supermarket.&#8221;<\/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\/Wfvp5XHbM9U?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>I love it. I always have, since I first heard it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Queen of the Supermarket&#8221;&#8211;like the album it hails from&#8211;is frequently misunderstood and definitely underappreciated. If you&#8217;re searching its lyrics for unplumbed depths, you&#8217;re missing the point: this is a song about the beauty that can be found in mundanity, set against a backdrop of wondrousness that we take for granted.<\/p>\n<p>Let me show you what I mean:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>There&#8217;s a wonderful world where all you desire<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And everything you&#8217;ve longed for is at your fingertips<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Where the bittersweet taste of life is at your lips<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Where aisles and aisles of dreams await you<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And the cool promise of ecstasy fills the air<\/em><br \/>\n<em>At the end of each working day she&#8217;s waiting there<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Scoff all you want about Bruce the millionaire writing about the common man&#8211;but if you can walk into a Whole Foods or a Wegmans and not be at least momentarily overwhelmed by the luxuries and indulgences amassed before you, you&#8217;ve lost way more perspective than Bruce has.<\/p>\n<p>I&nbsp;<em>still<\/em> love going to my local supermarket, where I can sample my way through more kinds of cheese than I ever knew existed, find fish I never thought i&#8217;d see outside of a high-end seafood restaurant or fishing charter, try fruits and vegetables I&#8217;d never heard of, and an array of spirits more impressive than any bar I&#8217;d ever frequented as a young man.<\/p>\n<p>My wife and I used to go to the supermarket on dates early on in our marriage, and I vividly remember the thrill of discovery and the sense of security found there. No one dies in a supermarket&#8211;everything you need, everything you want, and everything you never knew you wanted is there.<\/p>\n<p>For Bruce to set a love song against that backdrop? That&#8217;s inspired.<\/p>\n<p>For the object of the singer&#8217;s affection to be overshadowed by her surroundings? That&#8217;s brilliant.<\/p>\n<p>Heck, even the instrumental track is brilliant. Watch the &#8220;making of&#8221; video below and listen to that introduction again.<\/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\/p4uhxxrzoYk?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>Notice how Bruce has Roy syncopate mid-bar? That&#8217;s Bruce creating a background of delayed gratification to offset the foreground of instant gratification. Genius, I tell you.<\/p>\n<p>I won&#8217;t even bother writing about Bruce&#8217;s warm, soaring vocal. It speaks for itself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>I&#8217;m in love with the queen of the supermarket<\/em><br \/>\n<em>As the evening sky turns blue<\/em><br \/>\n<em>A dream awaits in aisle number two<\/em><\/p>\n<p>With that line, Bruce starts knitting, entwining love-struck metaphor with stark, everyday reality, and we&#8217;re never quite sure whether to laugh or swoon. Which is exactly what Bruce is going for.<\/p>\n<p>Look how effortlessly he does it:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>With my shopping cart I move through the heart<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Of a sea of fools so blissfully unaware<\/em><br \/>\n<em>That they&#8217;re in the presence of something wonderful and rare<\/em><\/p>\n<p>That line&#8211;&#8220;with my shopping cart I move through the heart&#8221;&#8211;is&nbsp;<em>exactly&nbsp;<\/em>what I referred to above: the juxtaposition of something tangible against something figurative, the ordinary against the sublime.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>The way she moves behind the counter<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Beneath her white apron her secrets remain hers<\/em><br \/>\n<em>As she bags the groceries, her eyes so bored<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And sure she&#8217;s unobserved<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Oh my. Her &#8220;secrets&#8221; beneath her &#8220;white apron?&#8221; That&#8217;s one of the most artfully subtle sexual references Bruce has ever written. And the fact that this beauty is bored and detached&#8211;numbed by overexposure to the wonders that surround her&#8211;creates the central dilemma of the song that&#8217;s so powerful that we instinctively understand it without Bruce ever stating it:<\/p>\n<p>If this woman isn&#8217;t moved by the richness, the beauty, the diversity and divinity that surrounds her, how in the world can our hero ever hope to attract her attention, let alone hold it?<\/p>\n<p>The strings swell, the backing vocals soar as our hero professes his love into the ether:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>I&#8217;m in love with the queen of the supermarket<\/em><br \/>\n<em>There&#8217;s nothing I can say<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Each night I take my groceries and I drift away<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And I drift away<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>With guidance from the gods above<\/em><br \/>\n<em>At night I pray for the strength to tell the one I love<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I love I love I love her so<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I take my place in the checkout line<\/em><br \/>\n<em>For one moment her eyes meet mine<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And I&#8217;m lifted up, lifted up, lifted up, lifted up<\/em><\/p>\n<p>And there we have it: our moment of connection, and it&#8217;s so powerful that even in that sacred setting, the singer is carried away by this one-of-a-kind in an emporium of excess.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>I&#8217;m in love with the queen of the supermarket<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Though a company cap covers her hair<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Nothing can hide the beauty waiting there<\/em><br \/>\n<em>The beauty waiting there<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Another clever literary device, this is. Supermarkets are notorious laboratories of product placement and packaging, with every product&#8217;s exterior engineered to attract and hold attention. And here we have a checkout clerk who is attired to do anything but that&#8211;and yet.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em>As I lift my groceries into my car<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I turn back for a moment and catch a smile<\/em><br \/>\n<em>That blows this whole fucking place apart<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Perhaps no verse that Bruce has ever written is ridiculed as much as that one. This is a writer who does not employ f-bombs indiscriminately, so why do so here?<\/p>\n<p>Because the intensifier is necessary!<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s singing about a woman who radiates so much beauty that she overshadows the amazing array of riches strewn about the aisles of the supermarket.<\/p>\n<p>So when she steps&nbsp;<em>out<\/em> of the supermarket&#8230; just imagine how powerful she must be set against the backdrop of a&nbsp;<em>parking lot<\/em>. That smile&#8211;it must have been like looking straight into the sun. No wonder it blew the whole fucking place apart.<\/p>\n<p>And let&#8217;s talk about that ending, because it&#8217;s one last stoke of inspired genius, an ethereal coda where the dominant instrument is the checkout scanner. Bruce turns the the monotonal scanner into a musical instrument, illustrating the transcendent beauty in the ordinary while simultaneously (and paradoxically) bringing us back to reality&#8211;and yet still managing to keep the protagonist afloat through swooning sighs.<\/p>\n<p>Just. Fucking. Brilliant.<\/p>\n<p>Bruce doesn&#8217;t attempt &#8220;Queen of the Supermarket&#8221; on stage very often. In fact, he&#8217;s only played it three times, and always by request (probably because he&#8217;s thrilled anytime he meets someone who likes the song).<\/p>\n<p>But it tends not to work in concert. For one thing, it&#8217;s too delicate to translate well to a large arena or stadium; for another, the song is so carefully constructed and instrumented from start to finish that it&#8217;s just plain difficult to recapture that lightning in a bottle.<\/p>\n<p>To the degree that it works at all, it works best as a quiet acoustic number. Here&#8217;s such a performance from the Wrecking Ball Tour in 2013:<\/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\/IEzGTq49Gls?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>So there. Mock it if you must, but you&#8217;ll not convince me that &#8220;Queen of the Supermarket&#8221; doesn&#8217;t rank among the best songs of Bruce&#8217;s 21st century catalog.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m in love with &#8220;Queen of the Supermarket.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Queen of the Supermarket<br \/>\nRecorded: <\/strong>2007-2008<strong><br \/>\nReleased:&nbsp;<\/strong><em>Working on a Dream&nbsp;<\/em>(2009)<br \/>\n<strong>First performed: <\/strong>May 6, 2009 (Stockholm, Sweden)<strong><br \/>\nLast performed: <\/strong>May 7, 2013 (Turku, Finland)<\/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;Queen of the Supermarket&#8221; is one of Bruce&#8217;s best 21st century songs. There&#8211;I&#8217;ve said it. I&#8217;ll explain why inside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5232,"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":[897,159],"class_list":["post-4774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roll-of-the-dice","tag-queen-of-the-supermarket","tag-working-on-a-dream"],"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\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/\" \/>\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: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/\" \/>\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\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:secure_url\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"338\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-04T12:00:29+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-26T19:27:56+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: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.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\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#article\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle\",\"headline\":\"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket\",\"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\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg?fit=450%2C338&ssl=1\",\"width\":450,\"height\":338},\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-04T04:00:29-07:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-26T11:27:56-08:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"commentCount\":3,\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#webpage\"},\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#webpage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Roll of the Dice, Queen of the Supermarket, Working on a Dream\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#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\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket\",\"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\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#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\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#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\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#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\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg?fit=450%2C338&ssl=1\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#mainImage\",\"width\":450,\"height\":338},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2018\\\/10\\\/04\\\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\\\/#mainImage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-04T04:00:29-07:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-26T11:27:56-08:00\"},{\"@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: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle","description":"","canonical_url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#article","name":"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle","headline":"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket","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\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg?fit=450%2C338&ssl=1","width":450,"height":338},"datePublished":"2018-10-04T04:00:29-07:00","dateModified":"2021-11-26T11:27:56-08:00","inLanguage":"en-US","commentCount":3,"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#webpage"},"articleSection":"Roll of the Dice, Queen of the Supermarket, Working on a Dream"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#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\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#listItem","name":"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket"},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#listItem","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#listItem","position":3,"name":"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket","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\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#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\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#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\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/","name":"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#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\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg?fit=450%2C338&ssl=1","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#mainImage","width":450,"height":338},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/#mainImage"},"datePublished":"2018-10-04T04:00:29-07:00","dateModified":"2021-11-26T11:27:56-08:00"},{"@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: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle","og:url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/","fb:app_id":"506162303136980","fb:admins":"358461094680441","og:image":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg","og:image:secure_url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg","og:image:width":450,"og:image:height":338,"article:published_time":"2018-10-04T12:00:29+00:00","article:modified_time":"2021-11-26T19:27:56+00:00","article:publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/estreetshuffleblog\/","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:site":"@Krosen","twitter:title":"Roll of the Dice: Queen of the Supermarket | E Street Shuffle","twitter:image":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"4774","title":null,"description":null,"keywords":null,"keyphrases":null,"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":"","og_description":"","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":"","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":"","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[],"defaultGraph":"","defaultPostTypeGraph":""},"schema_type":null,"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":null,"robots_max_videopreview":null,"robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":null,"local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":null,"created":"2020-12-21 06:21:47","updated":"2025-06-04 19:26:27","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: Queen of the Supermarket\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: Queen of the Supermarket","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-queen-of-the-supermarket\/"}],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-1f0","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8274,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/04\/06\/roll-of-the-dice-janey-dont-you-lose-heart\/","url_meta":{"origin":4774,"position":0},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Janey, Don&#8217;t You Lose Heart","author":"Ken","date":"April 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"One of Bruce's lightest but truest songs of love and friendship, \"Janey, Don't You Lose Heart\" is an instant highlight wherever she turns up.","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\/04\/janey.jpg?fit=800%2C792&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/janey.jpg?fit=800%2C792&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/janey.jpg?fit=800%2C792&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/janey.jpg?fit=800%2C792&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33251,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/28\/roll-of-the-dice-texas-drive-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":4774,"position":1},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Texas Drive-In","author":"Ken","date":"April 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Among the lost tracks from a lost album is this teaser of a song about a secret love.","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\/2022\/04\/texas.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/texas.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/texas.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/texas.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/texas.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":523,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/30\/roll-of-the-dice-all-or-nothing-at-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":4774,"position":2},"title":"Roll of the Dice: All or Nothin&#8217; at All","author":"Ken","date":"January 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"In which Bruce redeems one of his least compelling compositions decades after it was released.","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\/01\/all-or-nothing.jpg?fit=849%2C566&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/all-or-nothing.jpg?fit=849%2C566&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/all-or-nothing.jpg?fit=849%2C566&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/all-or-nothing.jpg?fit=849%2C566&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7886,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/23\/roll-of-the-dice-the-war-is-over\/","url_meta":{"origin":4774,"position":3},"title":"Roll of the Dice: The War is Over","author":"Ken","date":"March 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It may not feature Bruce's best lyrics, but \"The War Is Over\" is still a creatively constructed protest song that resonates fifty years down the road in unexpected ways.","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\/the-war-is-over.png?fit=1200%2C1050&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/the-war-is-over.png?fit=1200%2C1050&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/the-war-is-over.png?fit=1200%2C1050&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/the-war-is-over.png?fit=1200%2C1050&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/the-war-is-over.png?fit=1200%2C1050&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1646,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/roll-of-the-dice-nebraska\/","url_meta":{"origin":4774,"position":4},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Nebraska","author":"Ken","date":"April 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Nebraska\" is a song of disconnection and alienation. It's one of Bruce's most powerful compositions.","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\/ROCK_805-2.jpg?fit=498%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15483,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/18\/roll-of-the-dice-roll-of-the-dice\/","url_meta":{"origin":4774,"position":5},"title":"Roll of the Dice: Roll of the Dice","author":"Ken","date":"January 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Roll of the Dice\" was the first song Bruce recorded for Human Touch, and the one that finally broke his late 80s writer's block--and if the lyrics aren't among his best, his vocals certainly are.","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\/rotd.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/rotd.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/rotd.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/rotd.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/rotd.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/springsteen_supermarket-compressed.jpg?fit=450%2C338&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4774","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=4774"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31147,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4774\/revisions\/31147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}