Bruce Springsteen has published the eulogy he gave at the funeral of Clarence Clemons.
Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons spent more than three decades together. Conquering the world, the pair led The E Street Band through countless concerts playing to millions in the process.
Battling ill health for some time, Clarence Clemons suffered a stroke earlier this month. Despite hospital treatment, the saxophonist passed away sparking a wave of mourning from fans around the globe.
Laid to rest in Palm Beach, Florida the funeral for the saxophonist was a suitably grand affair. The E Street Band played in tribute to their comrade, before Bruce Springsteen read an emotional eulogy.
Parts of the speech have already reached the public domain, but now the singer has taken the step of publishing the eulogy in its entirety.
A ‘slightly revised’ edition has gone live, with Bruce Springsteen thanking fans for the support they have shown. “This is a slightly revised version of the eulogy I delivered for Clarence at his memorial” he explained. “I’d like to thank all our fans and friends who have comforted us over the past difficult weeks.”
Read an extract below…
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Those of us who shared Clarence’s life, shared with him his love and his confusion. Though “C” mellowed with age, he was always a wild and unpredictable ride. Today I see his sons Nicky, Chuck, Christopher and Jarod sitting here and I see in them the reflection of a lot of C’s qualities. I see his light, his darkness, his sweetness, his roughness, his gentleness, his anger, his brilliance, his handsomeness, and his goodness. But, as you boys know your pop was a not a day at the beach. “C” lived a life where he did what he wanted to do and he let the chips, human and otherwise, fall where they may. Like a lot of us your pop was capable of great magic and also of making quite an amazing mess. This was just the nature of your daddy and my beautiful friend. Clarence’s unconditional love, which was very real, came with a lot of conditions. Your pop was a major project and always a work in progress. “C” never approached anything linearly, life never proceeded in a straight line. He never went A… B…. C…. D. It was always A… J…. C…. Z… Q… I….! That was the way Clarence lived and made his way through the world. I know that can lead to a lot of confusion and hurt, but your father also carried a lot of love with him, and I know he loved each of you very very dearly.
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Read the full speech HERE.