In a new profile with The New Yorker, the legendary Leonard Cohen opened up about his declining health while talking about his latest album You Want It Darker, due out October 21. 

The piece notes that many friends and associates say they’d be “surprised” to see the 82-year old onstage again aside from a single performance. Cohen, who suffers from compression fractures in his back, said that he doesn’t think he’ll be finishing a new batch of songs. 

“Maybe, who knows? And maybe I’ll get a second wind, I don’t know,” he said. “But I don’t dare attach myself to a spiritual strategy. I don’t dare do that. I’ve got some work to do. Take care of business. I am ready to die. I hope it’s not too uncomfortable. That’s about it for me.”

He went on to add, “The big change is the proximity to death. I am a tidy kind of guy. I like to tie up the strings if I can. If I can’t, also, that’s okay. But my natural thrust is to finish things that I’ve begun.”