Bruce Springsteen is, of course, a star with a reputation for filling stadiums until they are bursting at the seams and being one of the most inimitable forces in all of rock music. But away from the showmanship and the spotlight, there is a tender man with a sonic intuition unlike any other. Despite all the years of success and exhilaration he experienced with his E Street Band, there was no moment that displayed this more sincerely than when saying goodbye to a fallen friend.
Clarence Clemons was undeniably one of the most significant pieces of the puzzle in keeping the band at their glorious best, having spent a lifetime tearing up both the stage and the studio with electrifying saxophone, solo after solo. Undoubtedly sprinkling the magic into tunes like ‘Born to Run’ and ‘Jungleland’, it was almost as though Springsteen, as well as the rest of the members of the E Street Band, had lost a piece of their souls when their ‘Big Man’ tragically passed away in 2011.
After having suffered a hugely catastrophic stroke, friends and family had rallied by Clemons’ bedside in a vigil, before turning to say their goodbyes. Of course, it goes without saying that ‘The Boss’, his right-hand man, whom he had formed an instant intrinsic connection with the second they set eyes on each other in a New Jersey bar in 1971, was also there to bid his musical comrade a fond farewell—and he did this in the only way he knew how.
Reflecting on the moment over ten years later with Howard Stern, Springsteen explained in 2022 that he knew Clemons’ passing was imminent when he went to visit him, and subsequently, “I just brought the guitar in and I strummed a song called ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’”. Although the original 1999 track was already a firmly well-versed favourite for his singer and his band on the road, there was no moment more fitting to perform it than when giving the saxophonist his quiet, final swan song.
Springsteen went on to describe the emotional magnitude of ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ by saying: “It’s about passing over to the other side, you know? It’s about life and death,” before going on to add, “It was a song we were playing at the end of the night, and it was one of the last songs that Clarence and I worked on a stacked solo together. It’s probably one of my best songs of the past 20 or 30 years.”
Subsequently, as Clemons passed away listening to his friend and most prized bandmate instructing him to: “Leave behind your sorrows/ Let this day be the last/ Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine/ And all this darkness past”, there seemed no more apt yet poignant moment to honour the life of a man who invigorated the world’s soul through his music and sound. He was just as much of an important cog in ‘The Boss’ mega sonic machine than even the man himself.
It’s only natural that even though many years have passed, Springsteen still holds his bandmate as closely in his heart as he ever did, keeping the essence of his memory alive through every song, lyric, and performance. After all, people do say that seeing ‘The Boss’ and his band live is like a spiritual experience, but maybe that’s Clemons, guiding his forces from above, making sure they put on a rock show fit for the gods.
