The Song Bruce Springsteen Played in E-Street Member Clarence Clemons’ Final Moments

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have a special bond that not all frontmen share with their backing musicians. Springsteen’s relationship was particularly strong with saxophonist Clarence Clemons. When Clemons passed away in 2011, Springsteen sought comfort the only way he knew how: with a song. In an interview with Howard Stern, Springsteen recalled the song he sang in his bandmate’s final moments. Find out which song that was below.

The Song Bruce Springsteen Played in E-Street Member Clarence Clemons’ Final Moments

Clemons’ entry into the E Street Band is the stuff of rock mythology. As the story goes, Clemons nearly broke down a door at a club in Asbury before begging to become part of Springsteen’s band. Luckily for Springsteen, he jumped at the opportunity.

Clemons had been an E-Street member for several decades before his death. He suffered a stroke several days before he passed, which left time for Springsteen to visit his long-time musical partner. With him, he brought a 2001 cut, “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

“It’s about passing over to the other side, you know? It’s about life and death,” Springsteen once said of this song. “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.”

Revisit this somber Springsteen track below.

Springsteen and Clemons’ Relationship

The admiration between Springsteen and Clemons was mutual. The saxophonist spoke at length about his relationship with The Boss, likening it to the relationship between “lovers.”

“It is a special energy that we create,” Clemons once said. “Separately we are two strong, independent people but we really speak to each other musically. I enjoy what happens.”

“It’s like lovers,” he continued. “There’s some showmanship too, but we do love each other. In that euphoric state of playing, you experience a bliss that’s the best thing in the world. It’s rare that you get to that place and you couldn’t have it every day because it would be too much for you. When you share that energy it’s the best thing in the world.”

Springsteen fans will undoubtedly know the “energy” Clemons spoke about in the quote above. His presence is surely missed in Springsteen’s outfit.

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