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.
The Storm
Glen Hansard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the decade of the bees
On a new road
With no true know that see it
There's doubt in every face
There's a liar on the stage
And what good is it
Every clap brings out a warning
Get ready for the storm, it's coming
Yeah, it's coming
So slap back in the face
For a city county race
And a coin drops in the box
Don't change the meter
There's a storm and it's a raging
In the belly of the slaving
It's coming, yeah it's coming
It's coming, hey it's coming
And when the wind howls at your gate
Already it is too late
It's coming, it's coming
The Glen Hansard song "The Storm" is a thought-provoking and powerful commentary on the state of societies worldwide. With lines like "Naked from the fee" and "From the decade of the bees," Hansard seems to be using the metaphor of a new road to symbolize our current times, where we are moving forward but with uncertainty and fear. The references to doubt in every face and a liar on the stage suggest that there is a general lack of trust in our leaders, and we are all searching for something to believe in.
The chorus, "Every clap brings out a warning, get ready for the storm, it's coming," is a clear warning that we are headed towards some kind of crisis. Hansard's choice of words is particularly interesting here because the notion of clapping usually implies celebration or agreement, but he is saying that every time we come together, we should be wary because something ominous is looming. The final lines of the song acknowledge the severity of the situation, with Hansard singing, "And when the wind howls at your gate, already it is too late. It's coming, it's coming." The storm is not just an abstract threat but something that will affect us all very personally and directly.
Line by Line Meaning
Naked from the fee
Feeling vulnerable, stripped of protection
From the decade of the bees
From a time of great change and unpredictability
On a new road
Starting a new journey, uncharted territory
With no true know that see it
Without any guidance or clear direction
There's doubt in every face
Everyone is uncertain and unsure
There's a liar on the stage
Someone is deceiving or manipulating others
And what good is it
What is the point
If you don't hear him say of believing
If you don't hear the message of hope and faith
Every clap brings out a warning
Even celebration is a signal of something ominous
Get ready for the storm, it's coming
Prepare for the inevitable hardship that is approaching
Yeah, it's coming
It is certain
So slap back in the face
A sudden jolt or wake-up call
For a city county race
A competition or struggle for power and resources
And a coin drops in the box
A small but necessary contribution
Don't change the meter
Don't alter the natural course of events
There's a storm and it's a raging
A metaphor for a chaotic and tumultuous situation
In the belly of the slaving
Within a system of exploitation and oppression
It's coming, yeah it's coming
The crisis is imminent
It's coming, hey it's coming
The warning is urgent
And when the wind howls at your gate
When the danger is knocking on your door
Already it is too late
The opportunity to prepare has passed
It's coming, it's coming
The storm is on its way
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GLEN HANSARD, GLEN JAMES HANSARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@loganpendel1
Waking from the fields, from the decade of the beast
On a new road with no true north, I see it
Well, there's doubt in every face
And there's a liar here on the stage
What good is it if he don't himself believe in it?
Every cloud rings out a warning
Get ready for the storm, it's coming
It's coming
There's a slap back in the face
For a sin you can't erase
And a coin drop in the box don't change the meaning
There's a storm and it's a-raging
In the belly of the slave and
It's coming
It's coming
It's coming
It's coming
When the wind howls at your gate
Already it is too late
It's coming
It's coming
@tjaehnigen
Just listen to live versions of grace among these pines.
Beyond incredible.
@pjburns9165
Glen is hands down my favorite musician. I just discovered him just over a year ago now I can play a bunch of your songs. GLEN your the best. I love you man
@taylordon3838
im a huge fan, i have seen him like 3 times, met him twice, totally cool guy, and mar is so beautiful, shame they parted. but i love all his songs, its like he just pours is feeling through his voice. the way he almost screams his feelings at the right time. amazing.
@oldninjadude1
WOW! Not often I find new music I like as much as this. thank you.
@mickhalo1
just bought this album to be delivered on monday, only listened to 2 songs so far but its Glen so you know your your paying for quality
@ARottenStateOfMind
I always wonder how these kinds of songs even get thumbs down. Maybe Glen Hansard is just very modest and gets new computers really often.
@redman9pablo
And love how the violin comes in lightly at 2.13
@dwilson94
Such an amazing voice, such mastery and control. I love this song, love this album.
@chevysnfirst
SO EXCITED about the show this weekend in Atlanta!!!!
@uih89gh
unbelievable .. will buy this album. you deserve it.