Career
Hansard quit school at age 13 to begin busking on local Dublin streets. He formed his own band The Frames in 1990, and the group have been gigging regularly in Ireland since. Hansard came to international attention as guitar player Outspan Foster in the 1991 Alan Parker film The Commitments. He has often stated that he regretted taking the role because he felt it distracted him from his music career. In 2003, he presented the television programme Other Voices: Songs from a Room, which showcased Irish music talent on RTÉ.
On 22 April 2006, he released his first album without The Frames, The Swell Season, on Overcoat Recordings in collaboration with Czech singer and multi-instrumentalist Markéta Irglová, Marja Tuhkanen from Finland on violin and viola, and Bertrand Galen from France on cello. Hansard also spent part of 2006 in front of the cameras for the music-infused Irish film Once, in which Hansard plays a Dublin busker, and Irglová an immigrant street vendor. The film had its United States premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007 and received the Festival's World Cinema Audience Award. During the promotional tour, he and Irglová began dating. Said Hansard about his relationship with Irglova: "I had been falling in love with her for a long time, but I kept telling myself she's just a kid".
Hansard had recorded a version of Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" for the film I'm Not There in 2007. In 2009, Hansard said that he and Irglova were no longer romantically linked, and that they are now "good friends".
Aside from his projects with The Frames and Irglová, Hansard also took part as a member of the band on the 2006 Oxfam charity album, The Cake Sale. Hansard has recorded several cover songs, both alone and with band member Colm Mac Con Iomaire, for the Today FM discs Even Better than the Real Thing. Songs that he has recorded include Justin Timberlake's "Cry Me a River" on Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 1 and Britney Spears' "Everytime" on Vol. 2.
He voiced a role on an episode ("In the Name of the Grandfather") on The Simpsons as an Irish busker. A new album of original songs recorded as The Swell Season with Markéta Irglová and entitled Strict Joy was released on 27 October 2009 on the ANTI- record label.
In the summer of 2011, he joined Eddie Vedder on his American solo tour in support of Vedder's solo album, Ukulele Songs. He played a solo concert at the opening of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Guitar Heroes exhibit in New York City in May 2011. and on Cape Cod at the Cape Cinema on 17 June.
In September 2011, he played at Pearl Jam's 20th Anniversary Festival PJ20 at the Alpine Valley Theatre outside of East Troy, Wisconsin. Hansard plays several guitars, including a very recognisable battered Takamine NP15 acoustic guitar (even sporting a large hole), which he calls "The Horse".
In a November 2011 interview in The Huffington Post with Irglova, it was revealed that Hansard was preparing a solo album and that there was a very possible third release from The Swell Season. This solo album was later revealed to be titled Rhythm and Repose.
American Songwriter included Hansard's "Love Don't Leave Me Waiting" on its The Muse July Sampler. Another song of his featured in a film soundtrack is This Gift, which appears in The Odd Life of Timothy Green.
Hansard sang the song "Take the Heartland" on the soundtrack for the 2012 film The Hunger Games. Another song he wrote, "Come Away to the Water", is featured on the soundtrack, but is covered by Maroon 5 and Rozzi Crane. Hansard can be found singing "Come Away to the Water" on the deluxe edition of his first solo album Rhythm and Repose. He guest-starred in an episode of the TV series, Parenthood, playing himself. In the episode, "Trouble in Candyland", he performed "High Hope", a single from his solo debut album Rhythm and Repose. In 2015, Hansard and Lisa Hannigan recorded a song, "On Love", for the soundtrack for the 2014 film Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. Hansard sang Coyote at the Joni Mitchell 75th birthday concert Joni 75: A Birthday Celebration in Los Angeles in December 2018.
Influences
Hansard has remarked about his musical influences: "In my house, when I was a kid, there was the holy trinity, which was Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, and Bob Dylan with Bob sitting centre." Hansard and The Frames toured as the support act for Bob Dylan in Australia and New Zealand in August 2007 and Hansard often performs Van Morrison's songs in concert. Two such songs include "Into the Mystic", and "And the Healing Has Begun" which were included on the collector's edition of the soundtrack for the film Once.
Hansard is a devotee of Krishna and performed for the 80th birthday of Swami Prabhupada in London, staying at a manor donated to the Hare Krishna movement by The Beatles' George Harrison, who was a Hare Krishna devotee. In July 2013, he sang with Bruce Springsteen at Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, Ireland. In July 2015, he performed "Raglan Road" with Ed Sheeran in Croke Park, Dublin.
Other
In 2008, Hansard took a four-week filmmaking workshop at the New York Film Academy.
In 2016, Hansard was a prominent member of the Home Sweet Home Group, a coalition of activists and homeless. The group broke into Apollo House in Dublin and illegally occupied it. They eventually had to vacate the premises due to trespassing.
Falling Slowly
Glen Hansard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out, oh
Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice
You'll make it now
Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
And moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
Well, you have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won
Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly, sing your melody
I'll sing along, oh, oh, oh
Take it all
I played the cards too late
Now you're gone
The opening lines of Glen Hansard's song "Falling Slowly" convey a sense of longing and vulnerability. The singer admits to not knowing the person he is addressing directly, yet the words they exchange fall through him and “always fool” him. This may suggest that he is emotionally invested in this person, but feels incapable of expressing his true feelings. The second verse speaks to the feeling of being trapped, unable to overcome the games and patterns that keep him from connecting with the person he desires. However, the chorus offers a glimmer of hope. The lines "Take this sinking boat and point it home / We've still got time / Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice / You'll make it now" suggest that despite the challenges, there is still a chance for the relationship to be salvaged.
The imagery of a sinking boat is potent, signifying the fragility of their situation. But the line "point it home" connotes a sense of direction, and the idea that they have the power to steer their course. The line "raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice" reinforces this sense of agency. It is a call to action, encouraging the person the singer addresses to speak up and take control of their life. In the bridge, the singer suggests that the person has struggled enough and it is time for them to win.
Overall, "Falling Slowly" speaks to the complex emotions of desire, vulnerability, and the struggle to connect. It suggests that while these feelings are not easy to navigate, there is always hope if we take action and steer ourselves towards a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't know you
I'm not personally acquainted with you
But I want you
But I have feelings of attraction towards you
All the more for that
In fact, my lack of knowing you only increases my desire for you
Words fall through me
I have difficulty processing and understanding language
And always fool me
And I am often misled or deceived by words
And I can't react
I feel incapable of responding appropriately
And games that never amount
Deceptive or manipulative actions that are ultimately meaningless
To more than they're meant
Not living up to their intended importance or significance
Will play themselves out, oh
Will run their course and end without anything substantial resulting from them
Take this sinking boat and point it home
Metaphorically, let's redirect our course towards a more positive, stable outcome
We've still got time
There is still a chance for us to succeed or make things right
Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice
Be optimistic and vocal, for you have the power to make decisions
You'll make it now
You are capable of achieving success or happiness in the present moment
Falling slowly, eyes that know me
Sinking into a sense of familiarity and comfort, looking into the eyes of someone who understands me
And I can't go back
I cannot return to a previous state, either physically or emotionally
And moods that take me and erase me
My changing emotional states can be overpowering and can make me feel like I am losing myself
And I'm painted black
I feel shrouded in darkness or negativity
Well, you have suffered enough
To the person I'm singing to - you have experienced significant hardship
And warred with yourself
You have struggled internally and fought with your own thoughts and feelings
It's time that you won
It's time for your struggles to come to an end and for you to succeed
Falling slowly, sing your melody
Flowing gently, singing your own individual tune
I'll sing along, oh, oh, oh
I will harmonize with you, offering my support and joining my voice with yours
Take it all
I will accept whatever comes my way, both good and bad
I played the cards too late
I waited too long to take action or make a move
Now you're gone
Now the person I'm singing to is no longer present
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind