Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band have released the second single off their upcoming Letter To You album, due out October 23.

The music video for "Ghosts" features clips of The Boss and the band in Springsteen's home studio, as well as archival footage from Springsteen's past.

Springsteen wrote the Letter To You album last spring after visiting a former Castiles bandmate who was dying of cancer. The experience prompted the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer to think about former E Street Band mates Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici, and his former assistant Terry Magovern, all of whom died from cancer between 2007 and 2011.

Springsteen tells Rolling Stone that "Ghost" is one of several songs on the new album inspired by those he's lost over the years.

“The loss of Clarence and Danny still echoes every day in my life,” Springsteen told Rolling Stone's Brian Hiatt. “I still don’t believe it. I’m like, ‘I’m not gonna see Clarence again? That doesn’t sound quite possible!’ I live with the dead every day at this point in my life. Whether it’s my father or Clarence or Danny, all those people sort of walk alongside you. Their spirit, their energy, their echo continues to resonate in the physical world. ... A beautiful part of living is what we’re left by the dead.”

But The Boss doesn't expect to join any of them very soon. He added that he has "a long road" ahead of him and several projects in the works.

"I've got a lot left to do, and I plan to carry on," he said.

Springsteen has had a busy few years since the last E Street Band tour wrapped up in 2017, between his best-selling Born to Run autobiography, his Tony Award-winning Springsteen on Broadway show and his Western Stars solo album last year.

The title track for Letter To You was released earlier this month. Listen to it here.

Photo: Getty Images

Ken Dashow

About Ken Dashow