None of us know when it’s our time. We go through life working our jobs, doing our chores, following our routines. Before you know it, it’s all over, often sooner than we’d like.
When I heard that Glen Hansard died this morning after crashing his motorbike west of Dublin, it hit me like a wave at high tide. If there’s any consolation to be found, it’s that I don’t think Glen took one single day of his 56 years on this earth for granted. Simply put, Hansard was probably the most powerful, passionate singer-songwriter I’ve ever heard. When I first saw him at Bonnaroo in 2013, he blew me away: he was pure soul, all love and rage as only the Irish truly are.
From his early days busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street, Hansard rose to become one of Ireland’s singular voices, winning Oscars, Grammys and OIiviers along the way. But, he never forgot his roots, hosting the annual Christmas Eve Busk outside Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre, raising over €2 million to benefit Ireland’s homeless community.
When Shane MacGowan died three years ago, Glen was called upon to sing “Rainy Night in Soho” on the Late Late Show and “Fairytale of New York” at the funeral. Because, who else could even come close? Today, that image of Glen performing in front of a projection of Shane and Sinéad O’Connor feels like an early invite to some sort of celestial seisún. (As it turns out, Glen was on his way home after a late night session at the Wren’s Nest, a small suburban pub in Strawberry Beds, west of Dublin.)
Another future member of the Irish musical Pantheon, U2’s Bono, summed Glen up thusly: “Voice of the streets. A choir of angels in one man. The rest of us blessed to stand there beside our very own and very earthed Angel Gabriel… All of us welcome in his choir, whatever shape or form….and I’m telling myself this morning that if he never existed, then he can never cease to exist. For me, he will always be everywhere I see a coin spinning into an open guitar case.”
Glen went out on top of his game, with a two-volume live album out in April and a new Swell Season album out last year, in which he sings about becoming a father at age 52:
“It’s a full-blown, solid gold
Miracle you’ve come…
Your dad’s a fortunate man
And he’ll be back to hold you
Just as soon as he can”
Thanks for your heart, Glen. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
iinfuytohwvfmjddtijrqrfoqmnhkp