Bruce Springsteen has paid a beautiful tribute to his mother Adele, who has died.
Adele Springsteen passed away aged 98, having been battling with Alzheimer’s Disease for more than a decade.
She was the primary breadwinner in the Springsteen household during Bruce’s youth, having bought her musically talented son his first guitar, when he was 7 years old.
Adele had always encouraged Bruce to pursue his passion for music, and follow his dreams.
Bruce had first confirmed his mother’s illness on stage at a live show back in 2021.
“She can’t speak. She can’t stand. She can’t feed herself. But when she sees me, there is always a smile. Still a smile. And there’s still a kiss,” Springsteen said. “And there’s a sound which she makes when she sees me. It’s just the sound but I know it means ‘I love you.’
“And when I put on Glenn Miller and she starts moving in her chair — she does, she does — she starts reaching out for me, to take her in my arms once more and to dance with her across the floor”.
‘In The Mood’
Taking to Instagram, Bruce Springsteen shared a video of himself and his mother dancing to that classic Glen Miller track from 1939, ‘In The Mood‘.
Borrowing lyrics from his track ‘The Wish’, Springsteen added the following caption with his post.
“I remember in the morning mom hearing your alarm clock ring / I’d lie in bed and listen to you getting ready for work / the sound of your makeup case on the sink / And the ladies at the office all lipstick / perfume and rustling skirts / how proud and happy you always looked walking home from work”, Springsteen wrote.
“It ain’t no phone call on Sunday / flowers or a Mother’s Day card / It ain’t no house on the hill with a garden and a nice little yard / I’ve got my hot rod down on Bond Street / I’m older but you’ll know me in a glance / We’ll find us a little rock ‘n roll bar / and we’ll go out and dance”.
Elsewhere, Stevie Van Zandt from Springsteen’s E Street Band, also paid homage to Adele Springsteen.
“The Matriarch of our family and an unrelenting source of inspiring positive energy. One of a kind. She will always be there for us. Dancing in the audience”, he wrote.
The Matriarch of our family and an unrelenting source of inspiring positive energy. One of a kind. She will always be there for us. Dancing in the audience. https://t.co/DJIe3Nr3QT
— 🕉🇺🇦🟦Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 (@StevieVanZandt) February 1, 2024
Van Zandt’s wife Maureen also paid tribute.
“Adele Springsteen was a ray of light. I think she was the most joyous person I’ve ever met. I remember teaching her and her adorable sisters to dance the Tarantella onstage with the band in Italy. That’s how I’ll remember her – laughing , twirling , eyes sparkling. Bellissima”, she posted on X.
Adele Springsteen was a ray of light. I think she was the most joyous person I’ve ever met. I remember teaching her and her adorable sisters to dance the Tarantella onstage with the band in Italy. That’s how I’ll remember her – laughing , twirling , eyes sparkling. Bellissima.
— Maureen Van Zandt (@MVZaGoGo) February 2, 2024
Adele Springsteen is survived by two other siblings of Bruce’s, six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and several extended family members.
