At Glen Hansard’s funeral in Dublin, Ireland Tuesday (Aug. 4), U2’s Bono played a musical voicemail from Patti Smith before reciting the lyrics of “Beautiful Day,” Eddie Vedder performed Hansard’s “The Song of Good Hope,” and both singers joined a group
performance of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.” Also among the mourners were Hozier, Imelda May, the Edge, the E Street Band’s Jake Clemons, and many other musicians. Hansard died July 29 at the age of 56 after a motorcycle crash.
Bono’s tribute celebrated Hansard’s gift for friendship. “How do you do that?” he asked. “People on the green outside, best friends. People tuning in, best friends. Even people who haven’t met him, best friends. Everyone who met him, they just remember the day they met him.”
He played a message Smith left him the day Hansard died, with a song she sang for his family. “It’s a lullaby for Glen’s family and friends,” Bono said. “She was happy to share it.” He followed with a mostly spoken-word piece, with help from the Edge, that rewrote some of the lyrics of “Beautiful Day” to honor Hansard: “You write your life until the story becomes true.”
Vedder performed Hansard’s “The Song of Good Hope,” harmonizing with Markéta Irglová, who shared the 2008 best original song Oscar with Hansard for “Falling Slowly” from Once. “It’s not as bad as it seems,” Vedder sang, his voice shaking with emotion.
“Glen said once that when you lose someone, you don’t really lose them,” said his brother, Richie Hansard. “If you have the strength and the will, you will gain them back and you inherit the best parts of them. And we have. We have inherited all the magical, colorful words, hugs, talks, madness, sadness, insightful, manic beauty that a brother, an uncle, a husband and a father could ever give. Thank you, Glen. Thank you, brother.”
Towards the end of the service, Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers, Vedder, Bono, and the Edge joined a dais full of singers to perform Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.”
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