Bubba is back…sort of.

Harlem residents were surprised to find former President Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on a nondescript street corner on Monday afternoon, apparently a rare public performance designed to raise desperately-needed funds for his wife’s struggling presidential campaign.

Passersby described the former president as looking particularly “haggard” and surrounded by a small, fluctuating crowd of 15-20 people, half of which was comprised of his own Secret Service detail.

“It definitely wasn’t the same saxophonist I saw on Arsenio Hall,” said Gary Mathison, an occupational therapist who lives and works in Harlem.

Sarah Adams, a physician from nearby Brooklyn, agreed. She happened to catch the president while on a shopping excursion. “I gave him a dollar,” she said. “He looked so sad. I don’t know what he was playing, but it was definitely the blues.”

Clinton, whose wife, Hillary, whose financial support has wavered in the face of challenger Barack Obama, raised just $7.54 over the course of three hours, a campaign spokesperson said.

The event wasn’t a complete wash, however, as a book deal is currently under negotiation. A certain bestseller, it probably won’t be read by anyone.