Dice Are Rolling Lyrics – Evita

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Composers: Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice
• Lyricist: Tim Rice
• Featured Vocals: Julie Covington (Eva Perón), Paul Jones (Juan Perón)
• Producers: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice
• Release Date: October 1976 (concept double-LP)
• Genre: Symphonic rock-opera / orchestral pop
• Instruments: Electric guitar, piano, full orchestra, marching snare, Latin percussion, brass fanfares
• Label: MCA Records
• Album: Evita (1976 Concept Album)
• Track #: 20
• Length: ? 6 min 10 sec
• Language: English
• Mood: Combative, prophetic, feverish
• Recording Studio: Olympic Studios, London
• Copyright © 1976 Really Useful Group Ltd. / Ensign Music Ltd.

Song Meaning and Annotations

“Dice Are Rolling / Eva’s Sonnet” explodes near the end of Evita, a duet where politics and mortality tango under fluorescent palace lights. The musical palette fuses military snare rolls, sweeping strings, and a prowling bass line—think Beethoven in boxing gloves. Juan Perón speaks in clipped, pragmatic phrases; Eva barrels in with lyrical fire. Their exchanges cut like cross-examination in a courtroom, only the verdict is life-or-death for a nation.

The composition splits in two. The opening “Dice Are Rolling” grabs 7/8 pulses, evoking the jitter of a casino spindle. Perón’s baritone sits on descending chromatics, mirroring his dread of back-corridor conspiracies. When Eva erupts, the key vaults a whole tone, brass flare, and we enter “Eva’s Sonnet”—an ornate, Shakespeare-tilted aria where she argues for her own immortality via the vice-presidency. In effect, Webber lets the harmony embody the conflict: realism in minor, idealism in soaring major.

“The people belong to no one!”

Perón’s line undercuts the populist myth Eva nurtures. Tim Rice’s diction—“fickle,” “controllable,” “changeable”—reads like a Machiavellian margin note. Moments later, Eva’s counterpunch—“I am Argentina!”—recasts personal ego as national identity, a trick every charismatic leader keeps in the back pocket.

Perón’s Verse

The rhythmic stress lands on action nouns—“dice,” “knives,” “presidents.” The orchestration is sparse, almost conspiratorial, strings muted with the bow. It feels like whispering behind velvet drapes.

Eva’s Retort

Trumpets charge, woodwinds flutter, and sudden triplets give her words—“clutch of stuffed cuckoos”—the bite of satire. She wields insult as a saber; the orchestra cheers her on.

Health Revelation

Perón’s warning—“Your little body’s slowly breaking down”—ushers in harp arpeggios and hollow-bodied guitar, the sonic equivalent of candlelight around a sickbed. Eva denies mortality with a crescendo that nearly breaks the mic preamp. That tension—decay vs. defiance—fuels the remaining score.

Similar Songs

1. “A New Argentina” – Covington & Company
   Both tracks are verbal sparring matches set against political upheaval. “A New Argentina” thunders with march-time percussion and a revolutionary chorus, while “Dice Are Rolling” is more intimate, almost a whispered coup. Thematically, each number measures power by crowd fervour. Where “A New Argentina” is a rally, “Dice” is the war-room debrief.
2. “The Point of No Return” – The Phantom of the Opera
   Another Lloyd Webber duet loaded with seduction and danger. Both songs deploy alternating viewpoints over shifting harmonies, but “Dice” swaps romance for realpolitik. The tension in the orchestration—rising chromatics, brass stabs—feels like distant cousins.
3. “One Day More” – Les Misérables
   Where Boublil & Schönberg choreograph seven melodic lines, Webber confines the drama to two voices, yet the stakes are similar: looming battle, uncertain tomorrow. Both songs crescendo with hopeful defiance, rallying unseen masses through pure vocal wattage.

Questions and Answers

Why is the section called “Eva’s Sonnet”?

The lyric slips into fourteen-line, near-iambic phrases, echoing Shakespeare while Eva argues for posterity—her own, naturally.

Is this the first time Evita’s health is addressed?

No—foreshadowing appears in “Santa Evita,” but “Dice Are Rolling” is the blunt medical reality check.

What vocal range do the leads require?

Eva rockets from A3 to a blazing E5; Perón holds steady around G2–E4, demanding baritone warmth with political gravitas.

How does the concept-album version differ from later stage casts?

The 1976 mix is rawer—electric guitars more prominent, tempos brisk. Later Broadway recordings slow the dialogue for clarity.

Where do the 7/8 bars occur?

Right after “dice are rolling, the knives are out,” giving the phrase a lurching, unstable heartbeat—perfect for palace intrigue.

Awards and Chart Positions

The Evita concept album hit No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in 1977 and won the 1978 Ivor Novello Award for Best Musical Score. Although “Dice Are Rolling / Eva’s Sonnet” did not chart individually, its pivotal role helped propel the album’s critical acclaim, paving the way for the 1978 West End premiere and the 1980 Tony-sweeping Broadway run.

Fan and Media Reactions

“That 7/8 groove feels like a heartbeat on caffeine—perfect soundtrack for a midnight coup.” @RhythmRebel

“Julie Covington’s final belt on ‘vice-president’ could light Buenos Aires for a week.” @StageTorch

“Forty-plus years later and the political barbs land harder than ever. Tim Rice was seeing the future.” @LyricLore

“The guitar crunch under ‘stuffed cuckoos’ makes me wish every history lecture had its own rock riff.” @ClassroomTenor

“Paul Jones sounds simultaneously exasperated and in awe—exactly how I feel when my partner reorganises the kitchen.” @DomesticDramaturg

Critics call the duet a masterclass in musical argument. Fans stream it before debates, job interviews, even gym sessions—any scenario where verbal finesse meets high stakes.