Bruce Springsteen summons ghosts of the past on stirring new single

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By ( Classic Rock ) last updated

Ghosts is the second single taken from Bruce Springsteen’s forthcoming album Letter To You

Springsteen
(Image credit: Debra L Rothenberg/Getty Images)

Bruce Springsteen has released a new single, Ghosts, referencing his storied career as a working musician. The song’s video finds The Boss in reflective mood, juxtaposing studio footage with archive images.

“I hear the sound of your guitar/ Comin’ in from the mystic far,” runs the opening verse. “The stone and the gravel in your voice/ Come in my dreams and I rejoice.”

“Ghosts is about the beauty and joy of being in a band, and the pain of losing one another to illness and time," Springsteen said in a statement. (Two long-term members of Springsteen’s E Street Band, Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons, died in 2008 and 2011, respectively.) “Ghosts tries to speak to the spirit of the music itself, something none of us owns but can only discover and share together. In the E Street Band, it resides in our collective soul, powered by the heart.”

Springsteen's 20th album, Letter to You finds ‘The Boss’ reunited with his band for the first time since 2016's The River tour. It was was recorded live at Springsteen's home studio in just five days, and the singer has described the process as “one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”

“I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” says Springsteen. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs.” 

Letter To You will be released on October 23 via Columbia Records. It will include nine original tracks, plus three – Janey Needs A Shooter, If I Was The Priest and Song For Orphans – written early in Springsteen’s career but never released until now.

The album is available for pre-order and will be available on CD, vinyl and on digital and streaming platforms.

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