Great Pumpkin Letters: Lady and Grateful Big Man's Pumpkin Sax

In a Great Pumpkin Letters first, there will be no mention of the Great Pumpkin

or the search for Penelope Cruz. Chief Crazy Captain Christo will resume his search

in the next Great Pumpkin Letters . No, this time the attention goes to one

Clarence Clemons. Please remember Clarence and the contributions he gave

to the music world. I’ll let Lady Gaga explain the rest in a speech. Enjoy!

LADY GAGA said,

" I should have filmed the evening at the studio. Dad, remember? I wrote this song called ‘The Edge Of Glory,’ and I wrote it about my grandfather while he was dying last year. And my first experience with music was my father playing vinyl of the E-Street Band. My dad used to swing me around the living room while gravy was boiling in the kitchen, and then he used to cry. And he would run out of the room and my mother would follow him, and I would say, ‘Mommy, why is Daddy crying?’ And I would hear, ‘Because someday she’s going to fall in love with another man and leave me.’ And it was to the sound of ‘Thunder Road.’

When I wrote ‘The Edge of Glory,’ and when I finished the song, I told my friends and my father — I said, ‘There’s something missing.’ And they said, ‘Well, what is it?’ And I said, ‘Well I’ve been through so many challenges and so many obstacles along the way that although I am very young I don’t remember what my youth sounds like.’ But Clarence and the sound of his saxophone – that was the sound of my youth. It was the only instrument and the only poetry that described the way I felt when I was five and when I was six and when my Dad told me about growing up in New Jersey and what it was like to see Bruce on the boardwalk and make out with girls on the beach.

I wish everyone could have been there when Clarence played. He played in that studio with me – Victoria, you remember – it was like he was 25 years old. Not a hitch, not nothing He took his hat off and let his dreadlocks go.

And for the brief time that I knew him – and for those of you that know him very well – you know that his heart is so wide. He envelops you with this huge spirit, if you let him. And I knew that it was destiny. And I knew that every time the song played that my grandpa was looking down and thanking me for not the gift that I had given to my fans, but the gift that I had given to my father by having Clarence on that record.

When he came to the Monster Ball, Clarence stood up. And Victoria said, ‘He stood up, Gaga! And he was dancing!’

So tonight, as much as I appreciate this award for me, I believe that the true woman of the year is Victoria. You are very strong – and you’ve been stronger for longer than this year. You are a rainbow and tonight I wear not just what Clarence gave me [a hairpiece] but I wear what you have given me [a bracelet]. I will never forget the way that you’ve not just touched my life, but Victoria — there’s only one thing that Italian girls want to do. We just want to make our Dads proud.

So may The Big Man live on forever. There is no edge when it comes to Clarence’s glory."

.....
And now a word from our author....with a nod to Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia and Clarence Clemons.

A saxophone someplace far off played
As she was walking on by a Jersey arcade
As the light bust through an Orange Pumpkin shade where he was waking up
She dropped a coin into the cup of The Big Man at the gate
And forgot about a simple twist of fate.

Respectfully in TRUTH,