“ I choose to believe that there is good in people and that everything is a lesson. Our place on Earth is to go deeper, to somehow get wiser. To have Spirit “ - Glen Hansard 1970 - 2026
I rolled out of bed this morning, still half asleep. I put the kettle on, made a fresh pot of coffee and stumbled to my chair by the panoramic window overlooking the bay and the deep blue Gulf. Next to the chair I keep my old guitar. Almost sixty years old, she’s battered and scarred from years on the road. Her spruce top a deep, golden brown stained by sweaty hands and whiskey spills. I love that guitar. It is the best sounding instrument I have ever held. It is my trusty companion and we keep each other from being lonely. She makes the sounds my songs and lyrics float on. She vibrates through my chest when I strum her hard, sings like a bell in my ears when I pick at her strings. Music, stories, love, magic flow through us and sometimes, when the world is just right, we touch the heart of a friend or a stranger. She’s seen me at my lowest and loneliest. She’s seen me laugh and heard me weep. She carries the names of my friends and family on her body to remind me where I come from and how lucky I am to live this freewheeling life of adventure, love, loss and beauty.
With the rich smell of fresh pressed coffee filling the room, notebook on my knee, I picked up the guitar and tried to play a melody, looking to somehow express what I was feeling. I had just read that Glen Hansard had passed away after a motorcycle accident and my heart felt heavy and filled with the deepest blues you could imagine. Glen was a songwriter’s songwriter. An artist to the core. His songs felt like sleeping in the lap of a lover, in an open meadow of golden grass. His voice takes hold of your heart and doesn’t let go. I didn’t listen to his music every day. To me it falls into the category of Will Oldham, Townes van Zandt, Mickey Newbury, Jeff Buckley and Leonard Cohen. It is undeniably great but it is HEAVY. Their music demands a certain attention and introspection that, if you are honest with yourself, can tear you apart and make you weep. I absolutely adore this genre of music. This stark look at the human condition. It’s not music you listen to when you still have a trip into town ahead of you. Glen was a hard worker. He pushed the boundaries of music and lyricism and he was prolific. A hardcore busker and barroom singer until the end. Go look at the video online of his final performance in a bar in Ireland, hours before his passing and you will understand. He helped and promoted up and coming artists. He shared the stage and spotlight with the unknown and the famous. He was one of the good ones. He wrote and sang with an empathy that made me feel less hopeless and alone. His passing leaves a gaping hole in my artistic world. I will, in my insignificant way carry the flame and follow his example to always keep working, searching for the song and melody on the wind.
Once again I’ve been reminded just how fleeting and precious our time on this planet is. What a great gift it is to have people to love and songs to write and sing. There is so much hardship, chaos and suffering in the world and it is up to us to shine a little light, spread a little hope. To carry our pain with grace and humility. Glen did exactly that and he showed us how. He showed us the beauty in love, loss, sadness and pain through elegant writing and commitment to his art. He showed us to turn inward and look for the essence of life inside of ourselves.
All we have to do is be open and present. Be kind and ultimately better human beings, one day and one act of kindness and mercy at a time.
JB