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.
Cry Me a River
Glen Hansard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you didn't know all the ways I loved you, no
So you took a chance, made other plans
But I bet you didn't think that they would come crashing down, no
You don't have to say, what you did
I already know, I found out from him
Now there's just no chance
There'll never be
Don't it make you sad about it?
You told me you love me
Why did you leave me all alone
Now you tell me you need me
When you call me on the phone
Girl I refuse
You must have me confused with some other guy
The bridges were burned
Now it's your turn, to cry
Cry me a river
Cry me a river
Cry me a river
Cry me a river
You know that they say somethings are better left unsaid
It wasn't like you only talked to him
And you know it
(Don't act like you don't know it)
All of these things people told me
Keep messing with my head
Should've picked honesty
Then you may not have thought it
You don't have to say, what you did
I already know, I found out from him
Now there's just no chance
With you and me
There'll never be
Don't it make you sad about it?
You told me you love me
Why did you leave me all alone
Now you tell me you need me
When you call me on the phone
Girl I refuse
You must have me confused with some other guy
The bridges were burned
Now it's your turn, to cry
Cry me a river (Go on and just)
Cry me a river (Go on and just)
Cry me a river (Baby go on and just)
Cry me a river
Oh!
The damage is done, so I guess I be leaving
Oh!
The damage is done, so I guess I be leaving
Oh!
The damage is done, so I guess I be leaving
Oh!
The damage is done, so I guess I be leaving
You don't have to say, what you did
I already know, I found out from him
Now there's just no chance
With you and me
There'll never be
Don't it make you sad about it?
Cry me a river (Go on and just)
Cry me a river (Baby go on and just)
Cry me a river (You can go on and just)
Cry me a river
Cry me a river (Baby go on and just)
Cry me a river (Go on and just)
Cry me a river (Oh baby cry)
Cry me a river (I don't wanna cry no more)
Cry me a river
Cry me a river
Cry me a river
Cry me a river
Cry me a river (Cry me, cry me)
Cry me a river (Cry me, cry me)
Cry me a river (Cry me, cry me)
Cry me a river (Cry me, cry me)
Cry me a river (Cry me, cry me)
Cry me a river (Cry me, cry me)
Cry me a river (Cry me, cry me)
The song, Cry Me a River, by Glen Hansard, is about betrayal and heartbreak. The singer reminisces about his past relationship with a woman he loved wholeheartedly. He believed that she was the sun and the earth, but she didn't understand the depth of his love. She left him for someone else, but when that didn't work out, she came back wanting him back. However, he refuses to take her back and wants her to feel the pain he felt. Hence, he asks her to cry him a river because of what she did to him.
The songs' lyrics are very emotional and express the feeling of betrayal and anger perfectly. It's a song about wanting to punish someone and make them feel the pain that they caused you. The singer wants his ex-partner to feel remorse for their actions and understand the pain they put him through.
In summary, the song 'Cry Me a River' is a sad and emotional breakup song that paints a picture of a man who was hurt deeply by someone he loved. He wants her to feel the same pain that he felt and understand the magnitude of what she has done to him.
Line by Line Meaning
You were my sun, you were my earth
You were everything to me, my whole world revolved around you.
But you didn't know all the ways I loved you, no
You never knew how deeply I loved you.
So you took a chance, made other plans
You decided to take a risk and make other plans for your life.
But I bet you didn't think that they would come crashing down, no
You probably didn't expect those plans to fall apart like they did.
You don't have to say, what you did
You don't need to explain what you did.
I already know, I found out from him
I already know what happened because someone else told me.
Now there's just no chance
There's no chance for us to be together anymore.
With you and me
Our relationship is over for good.
There'll never be
We can never go back to the way things were.
Don't it make you sad about it?
Doesn't it make you feel sad or regretful about what happened?
You told me you love me
You said you loved me.
Why did you leave me all alone
Why did you abandon me and leave me by myself?
Now you tell me you need me
Now you're saying that you need me.
When you call me on the phone
When you call me on the phone to talk.
Girl I refuse
I'm refusing to believe whatever you're saying or asking of me.
You must have me confused with some other guy
You're mistaking me for someone else.
The bridges were burned
Our relationship has been irreparably damaged.
Now it's your turn, to cry
Now you're the one who will suffer emotional pain and regret.
Cry me a river
Go ahead and cry a lot.
Oh! The damage is done, so I guess I be leaving
Since there's nothing left for me here, I'm going to leave now.
You know that they say somethings are better left unsaid
It's better to not say certain things, as they can cause more harm than good.
It wasn't like you only talked to him
You weren't just talking to him, you were doing something else with him.
And you know it (Don't act like you don't know it)
You're well aware of what you did, so don't pretend like you don't know.
All of these things people told me
I heard about what happened from other people.
Keep messing with my head
Those details keep causing me emotional distress and confusion.
Should've picked honesty
You should have been honest with me from the beginning.
Then you may not have thought it
Had you been honest, maybe you wouldn't have made the mistake that caused all this.
Cry me a river (Go on and just)
Go ahead and cry a lot.
Cry me a river (Baby go on and just)
Go ahead and cry a lot, baby.
Cry me a river (You can go on and just)
You can just keep crying.
Cry me a river (I don't wanna cry no more)
I don't want to cry anymore myself.
Cry me a river (Oh baby cry)
Cry a lot, baby.
Cry me a river (Cry me, cry me)
Keep crying a lot.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Justin R. Timberlake, Timothy Z. Mosley, Scott Spencer Storch
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind