This year marked the 45th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen‘s iconic record Born To Run, which Uproxx’s Steven Hyden unequivocally named “one of the greatest rock albums ever made.” While the record came out nearly five decades ago, Springsteen is not retiring from music any time soon. The iconic rock star recently ushered in a new era of music by announcing his upcoming album Letter To You and now, the singer offers another poignant preview of the effort.
Reflecting on the deaths of his E Street Band members Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici, as well as former assistant Terry Magovern, Springsteen touched on the song’s meaning in a statement, saying:
“‘Ghosts’ is about the beauty and joy of being in a band, and the pain of losing one another to illness and time. ‘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.”
While the song’s lyrics offer a mournful tribute to his close friends, the instrumentals call back to Springsteen’s classic rock anthems. “Ghosts” opens with room-filling snares before Springsteen’s textured vocals invite jangly guitars to color the track.
Listen to “Ghosts” above and check out which Springsteen song came in at No. 1 on Uproxx’s The Best Bruce Springsteen Songs, Ranked.
Letter To You is out 10/23 via Columbia. Pre-order it here.