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.
Take the Heartland
Glen Hansard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And keep my friends real close, yeah, this is how it's gonna go
I'm gonna find my knife and run it through those stitches
Throw my friends down in the ditches before they even know what I've come here for
Take the Heartland with a sense of revenge
Take the Heartland and make it look easy
Take the Heartland, you'll die in the end
I'm gonna grow my hair down to my face like a Fidel Castro
Like a Che Guevara or a Fidel Castro
And I'm gonna grant my folk my life's one last wish
And I'm gonna take their life with a knife
And I'm gonna sit and wait, not fall
Take the Heartland with a sense of revenge
Take the Heartland and make it look easy
Take the Heartland, we'll die in the end
Take the Heartland
Should I kill you with my sword, yeah?
Or should I kill you with this word?
You say sit, you say stand, you say stop, you say go
You say sit, you say stop, you say what, you say no
You say go, you say sit, you say stand, you say stop
You say go, you say sit, and you sit and you watch us all
Should I kill you with my sword, yeah?
Or should I kill you with this word?
Take the Heartland
Take the Heartland, your sense of revenge
Take the Heartland, you make it look easy
Take the Heartland
I set myself by the west, by the watch, by the wall
I set myself by the wish, by the watch, by the wall
I set myself by the words, by the watch, by the wall
I set myself by the words, by the voice that I heard
The lyrics of "Take the Heartland" by Glen Hansard seem to be about a person who has a plan for revenge against some friends or a community who have wronged them in some way. The first verse indicates that the person is going to hide their true intentions behind a facade, represented by the peacock's fan, and that they plan to attack their friends unexpectedly. The second verse suggests that the person is becoming more militant in their approach, referencing figures like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, and that they are willing to sacrifice themselves to carry out their plan. The chorus is a repeated call to action, urging the listener to "Take the Heartland" with a sense of revenge and making it look easy, even though they will ultimately die in the end. The final verses suggest that the person is ready for their own death and has positioned themselves by a wall, possibly waiting for their enemies to arrive.
Overall, the lyrics of "Take the Heartland" are dark and cryptic, leaving much of the storytelling to the listener's imagination. The song seems to be about revenge and the cost of violence, with an emphasis on the idea that those who seek revenge will ultimately meet a tragic end.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm gonna hide my heart behind the peacock's fan
I will keep my heart guarded and hidden from others, like a peacock hiding behind its fan.
And keep my friends real close, yeah, this is how it's gonna go
I will maintain close relationships with my friends and stick to this plan.
I'm gonna find my knife and run it through those stitches
I will violently attack my enemies with a knife, possibly targeting a weak spot or injury.
Throw my friends down in the ditches before they even know what I've come here for
I will deceive and harm even those closest to me, without their awareness or understanding.
Take the Heartland with a sense of revenge
With a vengeful spirit, conquer and claim the Heartland for oneself.
Take the Heartland and make it look easy
Take control of the Heartland with such confience and ease that it appears effortless.
Take the Heartland, you'll die in the end
Despite the desire to gain dominion over the Heartland, death is inevitable.
I'm gonna grow my hair down to my face like a Fidel Castro
Similar to Castro and Guevara, I will adopt a rebellious and revolutionary image.
And I'm gonna grant my folk my life's one last wish
Before enacting my plan, I will offer my community a final request or desire.
And I'm gonna take their life with a knife
Despite the prior offer, I will still carry out the violent actions with a knife.
And I'm gonna sit and wait, not fall
After the attack, I will remain composed and wait calmly without being affected.
Should I kill you with my sword, yeah?
Questioning how to eliminate a given opponent or threat, possibly with varying degrees of brutality.
Or should I kill you with this word?
Questioning whether it is necessary to be physical violent, or if verbal attacks and persuasion suffice.
You say sit, you say stand, you say stop, you say go
Someone is giving orders and possibly trying to control the actions of others.
You say sit, you say stop, you say what, you say no
The singer conveys a sense of frustration and possibly resistance towards authority.
You say go, you say sit, you say stand, you say stop
The words are repeated, possibly conveying the repetitiveness or monotony of obeying orders.
You say go, you say sit, and you sit and you watch us all
The observer does not intervene, despite the artist's rebellious and resistant attitude.
Take the Heartland, your sense of revenge
The singer urges the listener to act on their desire for revenge and take control of the Heartland.
I set myself by the west, by the watch, by the wall
The singer positions themselves intentionally, likely to observe or plan their next moves.
I set myself by the wish, by the watch, by the wall
Alternative placement options for the artist, still conveying a sense of positioning and observation.
I set myself by the words, by the watch, by the wall
Yet another alternative for the artist's positioning, which again emphasizes their observational nature.
I set myself by the words, by the voice that I heard
The artist makes a purposeful choice to place themselves near someone or something they overheard.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GLEN HANSARD, GLEN JAMES HANSARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind