{"id":9384,"date":"2019-05-09T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=9384"},"modified":"2024-01-01T18:25:04","modified_gmt":"2024-01-02T02:25:04","slug":"roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How?<\/p>\n<p>How is it possible that Bruce has never released &#8220;Ballad of the Self-Loading Pistol&#8221; or performed it even once?<\/p>\n<p>Longtime readers of this blog know that I frequently dive deeply into the well to spotlight Bruce&#8217;s castoffs. Admittedly, many of those were lost for good reason.<\/p>\n<p>But just take a listen to this gorgeous, fully realized ballad, recorded just after the release of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/05\/album-companion-greetings-from-asbury-park-n-j\/\"><em>Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. <\/em><\/a>and then suggest one good reason why Bruce would let this gem languish in obscurity. Because I sure as heck can&#8217;t.<\/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\/UuwErcjTX0Y?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 can&#8217;t figure it out. Maybe it&#8217;s because Bruce wrote the song after his first album was already completed and out the door, because musically and lyrically it would have been right at home and provided good company on <em>Greetings.\u00a0<\/em>By the time\u00a0<em>Wild &amp; Innocent<\/em> came out at the end of the year, Bruce had already evolved his sound. But certainly it would have fit nicely into an acoustic set, right?<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s so much to appreciate about &#8220;Ballad of the Self-Loading Pistol&#8221;:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The extremely ear-friendly melody that&#8217;s not only catchier than half of\u00a0<em>Greetings from Asbury Park\u00a0<\/em>(IMO, at least), it also bears a remarkable resemblance to Little Steven&#8217;s much later enduring classic, &#8220;I Am a Patriot&#8221; &#8212; so much so that I can&#8217;t help but wonder if &#8220;Ballad of the Self-Loading Pistol&#8221; had truly been forgotten.<\/li>\n<li>The story line that presages Bruce&#8217;s songwriting twenty years down the line. &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/23\/roll-of-the-dice-highway-29\/\">Highway 29<\/a>&#8221; is essentially a more mature, nuanced, and cinematic rewrite of &#8220;Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol.&#8221; Both songs center around protagonists who are lured by lust into situations for which they&#8217;re unprepared and which end tragically. But compare Bruce&#8217;s 1973 lyric &#8220;<em>There was a robbery, there was a holdup, there was a shootout, and there was a killing, and there&#8217;s blood on my hands<\/em>&#8221; with &#8220;<em>I had a gun, you know the rest&#8211;money on the floorboards, shirt was covered in blood and she was crying<\/em>.&#8221; I&#8217;m not sure there&#8217;s a better example of how Bruce honed his storytelling craft over the years.<\/li>\n<li>Turns of phrase like &#8220;an appetite for loving only a fading beauty could possess&#8221; and &#8220;the love song a bullet sings as she whistles&#8221; that a songwriter could still be proud of decades later, and that stand out here because of the uncharacteristic (for the time) restraint Bruce shows with his metaphor and rhyming dictionary.<\/li>\n<li>The incredibly powerful vocal performance Bruce delivers, especially for a solo acoustic recording. You can feel the anguish of the son in your bones as he confesses his sins to his father.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8220;Ballad of the Self-Loading Pistol&#8221; may not compare as strongly with the similarly darkly themed songs of\u00a0<em>Nebraska\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>The Ghost of Tom Joad<\/em>, but it stands tall among Bruce&#8217;s earliest works and deserves an outing in concert.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Father, I have come to tell you about something I done<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Well, as the night reared its light head into a baby sun<\/em><br \/>\n<em>We rolled down into the town from where the Black Throats come<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And you know there was a robbery, there was a holdup<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Oh, there was a shootout, and there was a killing<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And there&#8217;s blood on my hands<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Today I killed a man<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Well now, sister, you know me well<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And you ask me, well, how it was I felt<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Well, she had an appetite for loving only a fading beauty could possess<\/em><br \/>\n<em>She knew just what she wanted and she wouldn&#8217;t take less<\/em><br \/>\n<em>I figured it was a small town, it was at sundown<\/em><br \/>\n<em>It was just a small crowd of people around<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Oh, but he wouldn&#8217;t put his guns down<\/em><br \/>\n<em>No, he wouldn&#8217;t put his guns down<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Woah, he wouldn&#8217;t put his guns down<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Now his blood&#8217;s on my hands<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Today I killed a man<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>And papa, you showed me the beauty of buckshot<\/em><br \/>\n<em>The love song a bullet sings as she whistles<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And showed me the story of the self-loading pistol<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Well now, father, I have come to tell you about something I done<\/em><br \/>\n<em>He had a widow running through town screaming<\/em><br \/>\n<em>He had a brother and his tears were streaming<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Now I&#8217;m moving on the border with a rifle on my shoulder<\/em><br \/>\n<em>&#8216;Cause daddy, you showed me the beauty of buckshot<\/em><br \/>\n<em>The love song a bullet sings as she whistles<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And showed me the glory of the self-loading pistol<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>And I just come to tell you that it don&#8217;t hurt no more<\/em><br \/>\n<em>No, it don&#8217;t hurt no more &#8217;cause your son, he&#8217;s an outlaw<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Oh, your son, he&#8217;s an outlaw<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Yes, your son, he&#8217;s an outlaw<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Oh, your son, he&#8217;s an outlaw<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Now, your son, he&#8217;s an outlaw<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Oh, your son, he&#8217;s an outlaw<\/em><br \/>\n<em>And this blood feels good on my hands<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Today I killed a man<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol<br \/>\nRecorded:<\/strong> January 29-30, 1973<br \/>\n<strong>Never released<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Never performed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our\u00a0<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;Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol&#8221; is a lost gem from the Greetings era, a precursor to &#8220;Highway 29&#8221; decades later. It deserves wider attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10012,"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":[2332],"class_list":["post-9384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-roll-of-the-dice","tag-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol"],"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\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/\" \/>\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: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/\" \/>\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\/2019\/05\/selfloading.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:secure_url\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/selfloading.jpg\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3000\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2400\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-09T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-02T02:25:04+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: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/selfloading.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\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#article\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle\",\"headline\":\"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol\",\"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\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/selfloading.jpg?fit=3000%2C2400&ssl=1\",\"width\":3000,\"height\":2400},\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-09T05:00:00-07:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-01T18:25:04-08:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"commentCount\":2,\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#webpage\"},\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#webpage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Roll of the Dice, Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#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\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol\",\"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\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#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\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#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\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/\",\"name\":\"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#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\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/selfloading.jpg?fit=3000%2C2400&ssl=1\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#mainImage\",\"width\":3000,\"height\":2400},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/estreetshuffle.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/09\\\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\\\/#mainImage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-09T05:00:00-07:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-01T18:25:04-08:00\"},{\"@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: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle","description":"","canonical_url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#article","name":"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle","headline":"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol","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\/2019\/05\/selfloading.jpg?fit=3000%2C2400&ssl=1","width":3000,"height":2400},"datePublished":"2019-05-09T05:00:00-07:00","dateModified":"2024-01-01T18:25:04-08:00","inLanguage":"en-US","commentCount":2,"mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#webpage"},"articleSection":"Roll of the Dice, Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#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\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#listItem","name":"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol"},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#listItem","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#listItem","position":3,"name":"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol","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\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#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\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#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\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/","name":"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#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\/2019\/05\/selfloading.jpg?fit=3000%2C2400&ssl=1","@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#mainImage","width":3000,"height":2400},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/#mainImage"},"datePublished":"2019-05-09T05:00:00-07:00","dateModified":"2024-01-01T18:25:04-08:00"},{"@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: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle","og:url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/","fb:app_id":"506162303136980","fb:admins":"358461094680441","og:image":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/selfloading.jpg","og:image:secure_url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/selfloading.jpg","og:image:width":3000,"og:image:height":2400,"article:published_time":"2019-05-09T12:00:00+00:00","article:modified_time":"2024-01-02T02:25:04+00:00","article:publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/estreetshuffleblog\/","twitter:card":"summary_large_image","twitter:site":"@Krosen","twitter:title":"Roll of the Dice: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol | E Street Shuffle","twitter:image":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/selfloading.jpg"},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"9384","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":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":"-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":"2020-12-21 06:25:40","updated":"2025-06-04 19:49:28","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: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol\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: Ballad of a Self-Loading Pistol","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/09\/roll-of-the-dice-ballad-of-a-self-loading-pistol\/"}],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9w3Lk-2rm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2179,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/05\/19\/roll-of-the-dice-true-love-is-hard-to-come-by\/","url_meta":{"origin":9384,"position":0},"title":"Roll of the Dice: True Love Is Hard to Come By","author":"Ken","date":"May 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A fascinating work-in-progress that eventually led to \"Janey, Don't You Lose Heart.\"","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\/05\/true-love.jpeg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/true-love.jpeg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/true-love.jpeg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/true-love.jpeg?fit=800%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1570,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/13\/roll-of-the-dice-i-need-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":9384,"position":1},"title":"Roll of the Dice: I Need You","author":"Ken","date":"April 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\"I Need You\" and \"Ruled by the Gun\" -- two unreleased works-in-progress with a common melody but very different lyrics. The former is an anti-romantic ballad that never quite gelled.","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\/I-Need-You-..jpg?fit=1024%2C699&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/I-Need-You-..jpg?fit=1024%2C699&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/I-Need-You-..jpg?fit=1024%2C699&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/I-Need-You-..jpg?fit=1024%2C699&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22770,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1980\/08\/22\/roll-of-the-dice-walking-on-the-avenue\/","url_meta":{"origin":9384,"position":2},"title":"Walking on the Avenue","author":"Ken","date":"August 22, 1980","format":false,"excerpt":"This lonely River-era acoustic outtake never made it past the home demo stage, but with Bruce's warm melody and vocals it demonstrated a lot of promise.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;River&quot;","block_context":{"text":"River","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/river\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/walking.jpg?fit=1154%2C574&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/walking.jpg?fit=1154%2C574&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/walking.jpg?fit=1154%2C574&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/walking.jpg?fit=1154%2C574&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/walking.jpg?fit=1154%2C574&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27712,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/26\/matr-rotd-joe-grushecky-and-bruce-springsteen-1945\/","url_meta":{"origin":9384,"position":3},"title":"MatR\/RotD: Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen: 1945","author":"Ken","date":"August 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce's musical assist helped Joe Grushecky preserve his parents' story in this sweet, romantic and true ballad.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Meeting Across the River&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Meeting Across the River","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/meeting-across-the-river\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1945.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1945.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1945.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1945.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/1945.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18906,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2017\/01\/13\/cover-me-southside-johnny-walking-through-midnight\/","url_meta":{"origin":9384,"position":4},"title":"Walking Through Midnight","author":"Ken","date":"January 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the more under-the-radar Southside Johnny\/Bruce Springsteen collaborations, \"Walking Through Midnight\" closed Southside's first solo album in 1988.","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\/2020\/06\/slowdance.jpg?fit=500%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25334,"url":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/1980\/08\/04\/roll-of-the-dice-i-wanna-start-a-new-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":9384,"position":5},"title":"I Wanna Start a New Life","author":"Ken","date":"August 4, 1980","format":false,"excerpt":"This gorgeous Jackson Browne-ian work-in-progress ballad might have made for a gorgeous song had Bruce completed it.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;River&quot;","block_context":{"text":"River","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/category\/river\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/newlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/newlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/newlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/newlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/newlife.jpg?fit=1200%2C857&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/estreetshuffle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/selfloading.jpg?fit=3000%2C2400&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9384","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=9384"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47491,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9384\/revisions\/47491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}