As we say goodbye to 2020, which has been full of struggles, everyone will have their own way of ringing in the new year. We have lost so many people to the pandemic. But while collectively there has been so much loss and heartache, life moves on with births, marriages, and other events that have given joys too.
What better way to end the unusual year than with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s performance of “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” The song, from one of the best albums of the year, Letter to You, is a fitting coda to the year.
I’ll see you in my dreams,
When all the summers have come to an end;
I’ll see you in my dreams,
We’ll meet and live and love again;
I’ll see you in my dreams,
Yeah, up around the river bend,
For death is not the end,
And I’ll see you in my dreams.
Springsteen made a statement with his choice of songs for the show. The album Letter to You features many rousing songs, new and old. Yet, Springsteen did not choose the title song about his connection with fans. He did not choose other songs that can be interpreted as referencing our current national leadership. He did not choose songs from the 1970s that he finally released officially on this album. No, with the year and pandemic on his mind, he chose the two songs most about loss and remembering lost friends and family: “Ghosts” and “I’ll See You In My Dreams.”
Saturday Night Live performances are somewhat notorious for not having the best sound. But the rough-around-the edges performance of the E Street Band, which has not been able to perform live this year, makes this version of “I’ll See You In My Dreams” even more endearing.
Bruce’s ragged vocal chords, the lyrics of loss, and the absence of two band members who chose not to travel due to Covid concerns, help make it the perfect performance for ending 2020.
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year.
