“I’m scared enough as it is up here,” Leonard Cohen told the crowd.

It was the last night of his 1972 tour, in a sports arena in Jerusalem, and the fans kept clapping the second they recognized a song. Cohen kept stopping. He asked them to wave their hands instead. He started “Bird on the Wire” over. He told them the songs were meditations for him and that he felt like he was cheating them when he couldn’t get lost in the music. A few songs later he offered everyone a refund and walked off.

Backstage he cried. His manager begged him to go back out, and so did the band. He said the show was over. The promoters went out and announced refunds, and the young crowd answered by singing.

Then Cohen started looking for a razor.