Why Bruce Springsteen changed his set list to end concerts with this song

Few things will make you feel more alive than a Bruce Springsteen concert.

But when Springsteen and the E Street Band returned to the stage in 2023 after a six-year break, the through line of the tour was death.

Or at least mortality, as outlined in “Road Diary,” the documentary about Springsteen, his hallowed band, life on tour and the inevitable tug of time. The two-hour-plus film arrives on Hulu on Oct. 25.

As far as revelations from this visual chronicle go, the biggest comes from Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, disclosing she’s been living with a rare cancer called multiple myeloma since 2018.

But the film uncovers deep themes and insights into how the Boss creates imitable musical experiences for fans.

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Springsteen chooses his setlist to 'complete the narrative'

Springsteen, who turned 75 in September, immediately hones in on the importance of a set list when he and the E Streeters convene in a theater in Red Bank, New Jersey to “shake the cobwebs off” and prepare for their 2023 tour (which has extended into 2025).

It’s the first time he’s able to perform songs from “Letter to You,” his profound 20^th studio album released during the COVID-19 wave of 2020, and he’s on a mission.

The set list, Springsteen says in the documentary directed by trusted friend and filmmaker Thom Zimny, will communicate the story to fans. “In 25 songs I chose to focus on what would complete the narrative for what I wanted to say and it would let the audience know who I am at this point in my work life,” he says.

For a collective nearly as famous as The Grateful Dead for shuffling songs and pulling out surprises every concert, the initial chunk of shows in 2023 demonstrated meticulous discipline.

Why Springsteen ends his set with this song

With few exceptions, the opening quartet featured “No Surrender,” “Ghosts,” “Prove it All Night” and “Letter to You.” With zero exceptions – even through the current round of fall shows – Springsteen has ended his concerts on stage alone with his acoustic guitar to leave fans with the sweet meditation on loss and spirituality, “I’ll See You in My Dreams.”

“It’s of vital importance that he ties together the underlying thoughts and feelings that make this show different than any other show he’s done,” says an unidentified voice that sounds like Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager of nearly 50 years. (One quibble about the documentary – band members are only identified once and, given the enormity of the E Street Band, it’s often challenging to determine who is speaking over footage of shows and backstage back slaps.)

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Throughout the film, there are nods to deceased band members Danny Federici, who died in 2008, and Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011 (“Clarence and I, we were different parts of the same spiritual body,” Springsteen says). It also confirmed what fans had already inferred – that the set list addition of “Night Shift,” Springsteen’s soulful cover of the 1985 Commodores tribute to Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, is a tipped hat to Federici and Clemons.

But oddly, given the overriding theme of mortality, it’s curious why there is no mention of the debilitating peptic ulcers that forced Springsteen off the road the last four months of 2023 before he and the band returned in March.

A segment focusing on a fan base as equally fervent in parts of Europe (Barcelona in particular) as the U.S., offers insights that are as much about the ticking clock as the exuberance of “Born to Run.”

“We don’t expect him to tour forever,” says one devotee in Ireland. “We want to soak up every moment of this … just in case.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why Bruce Springsteen decided to change set list, end with this song