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This Wild Willing

by Glen Hansard

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John Brent
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John Brent Blown away with how good this album is. Favorite track: Brother's Keeper.
dj riffelblech
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dj riffelblech he's still in charge. great album! huge opener! by the way, one of the most electrifying live-artists... Favorite track: I'll Be You, Be Me.
aernamusic
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aernamusic A very surprising Album. This Album takes me to other places. On a very Intensiv and emotional way. Already the Opener seems to me as could be 10 min longer. Favorite track: Race To The Bottom.
PortBreak1 Roger
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PortBreak1 Roger Dublin - Record Store Day release April 12, 2019
Marcin Karski
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Marcin Karski After 1st listen the impression is immense: this might be the best, most intriguing album Glen has ever done. It's like falling into the ocean to gaze onto it's beauty without drowning. It will be great to listen to for months to come. Favorite track: Fool's Game.
Hoppy
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Hoppy love this song Favorite track: Brother's Keeper.
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1.
Your love’s a bonnie snare Traps me in the evening Got me hanging in mid-air Now I’m swinging from the ceiling But it’s me that’s looking now It’s me that’s seeking something When you’re nowhere to be found Must I keep on looking I’ll be you, be me and I’ll be you I’ll take your truth, your lies, your secrets How ‘bout you be me and I’ll be you I love your strength, your pride, your weakness My love’s an androgen She writes when I’m in slumber My lover is all good things And I’m the fool whose spell she’s under She laid a silken thread A warm scent in the evening If you follow the trail of dead You’ll come upon the place she’s sleeping I’ll be you, be me and I’ll be you And we won’t say no more about it How ‘bout you be me and I’ll be you And we’ll just leave it where we found it I’ll be you, be me and I’ll be you And we won’t say no more about it How ‘bout you be you and I’ll be me And we’ll just leave it where we found it
2.
Don't Settle 06:01
When you climbed the hill of vision As above so it was below Through the apathy and derision Each step ascending you took alone And when they pin you in the corner Pay no heed to their droning on ‘Cause you’re not going back where you don’t belong Well you rose up through the ranks now And you worked hard for your luck You’ve only got yourself to thank now You and everybody else in the book And there are hidden hands to guide you Other forces now at play But you’ve got to learn to get out of their way Oh, don’t settle Oh, not yet Oh, don’t settle For less May your song ring true and bright now And be honed by your own hand As the day gives way to night now May it echo through the land And when they turn your words against you Try to grind you to the ground Let them know that they might beat you But they’ll never turn you round Oh, don’t settle Oh, not yet Oh, don’t settle For less Well you sought no one’s allegiance You were cowed by no one’s hand You outgrew your antecedents Worked your own corner of the land And when they set their sights upon you Come to mine the seam you struck May you bid them well and wish them luck Oh, don’t settle Oh, not yet Oh, don’t settle And don’t forget what Liam Clancy said No envy, no anger, no cruelty, no regrets No jealousy, no rancour, no confusion; don’t forget No enemy, no anger, no incredulity; show respect No envy, no anger, no judgement on no one; lest you forget Lest you forget what they did to you Come on, rise off your knees, you’re not beaten yet No envy, no anger, no judgement on no one; lest you forget And you’re not going back where you don’t fit
3.
Fool's Game 06:04
It's a fool's, fool's game Lover, that we have to play Crashing into each other No convalescing It's a leap of faith Lover, that we blindly take I'm taking it with you and no other No hesitating And if our minds they go And our bones they shatter We'll put it on nobody But ourselves It's an old refrain Lover, that we hear again Urging a cautious measure Sounding a warning It's a thin escape Lover, that we hope to make When we're beaten, broken and battered Beyond consoling And the breezes blow And to the winds we're scattered And we're fending for nobody But ourselves It's a fool's, fool's game When you've nothing but a heart to break Better keep on breaking it, lover Until it opens It's a speeding train Beating through the pouring rain With no way to slow or stop it And the tracks are broken Like a rising wave Through the storms we gather And we're falling on nobody But ourselves Che danestam, che danestam ke in soda Ooh Che danestam ke in soda Mara zin saan konad majnoon Delam ra doozakhi saazad Do cheshmam ra konad jeyhoon Ooh
4.
Sliding along by the Seine, it’s May Day This song’s in my head once again It’s a long way down to the bottom we’ve been racing Coughing my lungs up on Rue des Irlandais Becoming a risk to myself It’s a long way down to the bottom and we’re racing The radio silence and the anarchists Are gathering names, dates and lists for burning It’s a long way down to the bottom that we’ve been racing Oh, how you move me, but truly Oh, how you set my heart aglow I’m shadowing in with the crowds unnoticed Somebody painted an ‘X’ on my back It’s a long way down to the bottom and we’re racing Piss on the streets after dark in Paris Even on dear Joan of Arc, she knows It’s a long way down to the bottom and we’ve been racing Even the gods as they gaze down on us Know that there’s no one to be saved among us They keep turning away, turning away We’re singing along with the righteous people The bullets will rain down from the mosques and steeples They keep turning away, turning away A taste for the wine and a woman’s forgiveness Her man’s in decline; oh, it’s a nasty business It’s a long way down to the bottom that we’ve been racing Our blood is no thicker than this water, my brother You’ll find out soon, one way or the other It’s a long way down to the bottom that we’ve been racing Even the clouds that send the rains down on us See a horizon that goes way beyond us they keep drifting away, drifting away While down in the dark in the tick tock alleys Time’s running out and there’s still bills to tally We keep chipping away, chipping away Sliding along with the bouquinistes Baldwin and Brecht and the distance between us It’s a long way down to the bottom that we’ve been racing I’m rising up strong like a snake that’s charmed A handsome Parisienne on my arm It’s a long way down to the bottom that we’ve been racing
5.
The closing door The end of people His likes no more Go tell it on the steeple The river runs At a fever Just like a drum With no meter The closing door The blue-eyed raven Will sing no more Above the congregation Like Noah’s dove With his burden Above the mighty flood Won’t be returning To the closing door Fool’s Game It’s a fool’s, fool’s game Lover, that we have to play Crashing into each other No convalescing It’s a leap of faith Lover, that we blindly take I’m taking it with you and no other No hesitating And if our minds they go And our bones they shatter We’ll put it on nobody But ourselves It’s an old refrain Lover, that we hear again Urging a cautious measure Sounding a warning It’s a thin escape Lover, that we hope to make When we’re beaten, broken and battered Beyond consoling And the breezes blow And to the winds we’re scattered And we’re fending for nobody But ourselves It’s a fool’s, fool’s game When you’ve nothing but a heart to break Better keep on breaking it, lover Until it opens It’s a speeding train Beating through the pouring rain With no way to slow or stop it And the tracks are broken Like a rising wave Through the storms we gather And we’re falling on nobody But ourselves
6.
1st of October, the summer’s over The leaves are falling all around my door The midnight walking, early morning talking Can’t you hear us whispering, walking across your floor Walking on your floor Well, I’m going deeper, my brother’s keeper I’m looking out for him the best I can He’s getting older, the year is colder Got to lean a little closer now and hear what he’s saying Hear what he says We’ll go out rambling all through the brambling Long shadows falling far out ahead The rose hips have grown now, the year is in slowdown Your long hair and long dress, let them fall for me Let them fall for me And will you wait for me to come home? Will you wait for me? Brother, put that weight on me Brother, put that weight on me Great works don’t lie there, grind up and dry there They wait for impatiently your hands to find Leaf through the pages, can’t you feel the ages Rise up like dust now in the sunlight there In the sunlight And will you wait for me to come home? Will you wait for me? Brother, put that weight on me Brother, put that weight on me Sister, put that weight on me Sister put that weight on me I’m going deeper, my brother’s keeper I’m looking out for him the best I can
7.
Mary 03:40
Love is a language you can speak So eloquently And I’ve never heard such a melody As when you address me, Mary I’ve never felt so sweet a kiss Put on so gently As love bears fruit, it’s taken root And is growing inside me, Mary This work that we do is old and new It comes so rarely But when you’re around it comes falling down Like confetti upon me, Mary With your song You made this wild willing With your willing You made this wild song With your song You crossed every border That I have guarded so long Love is a language you can speak So eloquently And I’ve never heard such a melody As when you address me, Mary
8.
Threading Threading water Carrying wood Got more than I hoped for With this unending good My writer and poet My seer of true I can see further when I’m with you And you’re working the lines up Thinning them down Rolling the words round in your mouth Threading Threading water Giving thanks and praise Thanking the gods For the rest of my days A time now for reaping A time to reflect A time now I know we won’t forget And here’s to not knowing Faith with no proof I can see further when I’m with you
9.
Weight of the world Coming through it We'll find someone Weight of the world We'll find someone who Let you through We'll find what is Go find someone who'll Be no obstacle Between me and you Weight of the world Oh, weight We'll fill in Getting longer And then write down at the end Keep saying you're not getting in Go through Go find someone who'll Who'll mind you Looking through Oh looking through Looking through No-one is something that there's Some kind of gravity too Oh, black toes Go, go, go Go find someone who'll Go find someone who'll Listen to you Go find someone who'll Someone who'll stay by you With no In your victory In your victory cross And without you, alone Go find someone who'll Someone who'll listen Go find someone Someone waiting on love then, mystery You're not coming through What's this old boy to do? If I'm not coming through
10.
I can’t know your mind Leave all you did behind Keep you from turning on yourself I wish I could light your load I’d lie down in the road But you’re gonna have to do it For yourself I can be here for you But I can’t make you come You’ll have to come now By yourself Who’s gonna pour your glass Roll you round in the grass Who’s gonna be your baby now Who’s gonna light your spark Keep you from the dark Who’s gonna be your baby now Who’s gonna call the cops Run down to the shops Who’s gonna be your baby now Who’s gonna still your fingers Who’s gonna let them linger Who’s gonna be your baby now You made your decision I know my position Who’s gonna be your baby now I can’t change your mind Leave all we did behind Keep you from turning on yourself I can’t light your load Or shorten the road I can’t make you turn around You keep walking on I’m gonna stay here till your gone Who’s gonna be your baby now
11.
Well, I call this room to order Gather round now and hear my song If you’re drunk or at its border Listen well, this won’t take long There’s no doubting fortune’s favour When it tells you you’re the one But may the real fruits of your labour Be sown by you alone Oh, good life of singing Good life of song Won’t you grant us our full measure When our day is done Oh, good wine and winning Good nights so long Won’t you ease us through our toiling The road is very long After long weeks in the corner Where the wine won’t make you drunk But you held your place with honour Among the bards and the troubadours This is no roaming lamentation No ode to those who’ve gone But a joyful incantation To the road we’ve come upon Oh, good life of singing Good life of song Won’t you ease us through our toiling The road is very long Oh, good wine and winning Good nights so long Won’t you grant us our full measure For now we must go on Good life of singing Good life of song Go tell it on the mountain Let them know we passed this way Let them see we came as equals Let them know we weren’t afraid And they’ll feel your love of music In every note you play Well, it leaves you if you don’t use it Don’t let it slip away Oh, good life of singing Good life of song How you granted us our measure When our work was done Oh, good days of drinking Good nights so long How you eased us through our toiling For now we must go on Good life of singing Good life of song Good life of singing Good life so long Threading Water Threading water Making it through Thanking the lord For the gift of you Falling behind some And catching up Finding our own pace Yeah, that’s good enough Back for the weekend Back with no doubts I’m in now and I’m not backing out
12.
And leave a light on in your lonely window And the heartfelt welcome in your eye From far away on the deep black ocean You're the one I'll come back to find So say goodbye to the long cold winter And farewell to all we've left behind From far away on the deep black ocean You're the one I'll come back to find So sing the song that your mother taught you Of the gypsy heart that never rests And wait a while for the arms that once held you And pull them close into your breast So say goodbye to the long cold winter And farewell to all we've left behind And leave a light on and come out of the shadows You're the one I'll come back to find You're the one I'll come back to find

about

I arrived into Paris on July 3, 2018 with a handful of ideas, a studio booked, and a month to gather these fragments into songs. I’d just come off a European tour, I was tired and fighting a persistent chest infection. The thought of a whole month in one place was a gift. I dropped my bags into a small room at the Irish Cultural Centre on Rue des Irlandais in the 5th arrondissement: a single bed, a writing desk, a lamp, and a window — all I needed. I’d been granted an artist’s residency which would culminate in a concert given at the end of my stay.

I had been to Paris a few times before, mostly on tour. On the first evening of my stay I took a walk around the adjoining streets of the Latin Quarter and found a small cafe on Rue Mouffetard called Le Verre a Pied. I had a glass and then another, wrote in my journal, and knew I had found my spot and that this would be a fruitful time.

I spent the first few days alone, taking it in slowly, beginning each day at the writing desk. 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., then a walk, lunch, and back to the page from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. though this routine was far from written in stone. My first afternoon walk took me down Rue du Cardinal Lemoine toward the Seine, all downhill to the river. Turning left toward Notre-Dame and walking against the current, I came to the bouquinistes. There I met Sydney Zekley, a Californian bookseller with a passion for James Baldwin. She had come to Paris to find his Ghost and was now selling first editions of his work along with those of many other greats. I found a copy of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. It was an early edition and had some miles on it. I bought it, along with a French phrasebook, and arranged to meet Sydney later in the week. Then I headed back up the hill to the newly familiar streets around the Latin Quarter where I found a quiet spot, ordered a coffee, and opened Hemingway. There in the opening lines he mentioned the very place I was sitting: “and the cold wind would strip the leaves from the trees in the Place Contrescarpe.” I took this as a welcome to the great city of Paris and designated Ernest as my tour guide. He was excellent company throughout my stay in the city.

I had contacted my friend, Nadia Genet, when I arrived in Paris. Our friendship would bloom through this time and be a real anchor to me. She showed me around the city she loved: the early morning markets, the anarchist bookstores, and Le Moulin des Andes; the late-night restaurants where the chefs eat — sides of the city I would have never found alone. Nadia and I would drive back and forth to the studio, stopping each time at Chartres Cathedral or taking a detour to Mont-Saint-Michel. These road trips were an important part of the making of this record. They are in the music.

One evening in the city, I was invited to dinner by a Dutch friend of mine, Judith Mok. She is a classical singer, and was staying in the 10th district while working on a book of poetry. She had also been improvising Sephardic songs with a group of Iranian musicians, the Khoshravesh brothers, whom she had met during her stay. That night they had cooked Persian food and we ate and played music. As I sang a song I’d been working on called “All My Trials,” the brothers joined me, and I was transported. The song took on a new depth, I heard it differently and new possibilities emerged. The ease with which they followed their own melodic line while being sympathetic to mine was intoxicating. We played for hours; at the evening’s end I asked Pouyã, Mãni & Nimã if they’d join me in the studio. They agreed and I left with the strong feeling that my record was going to take an interesting turn.

My plan for the record was to work on the songs in Paris, then make a trip to the studio near Segre, 300 kilometres west. The intent was to make an acoustic record with sparse accompaniment. I would work with Joe Doyle (bass), who’s been my long-time friend and collaborator in The Frames, Swell Season etc. and an integral part of all I do along with Ruth O’Mahony Brady (ROMY) (piano, keyboards, string arrangements, vocals), who’s recorded and toured with me since Didn’t He Ramble. I’d also invited Javier Mas (Spanish guitar, laud) to join us. I first saw Javier play with Leonard Cohen in 2010 and wrote him a fan letter. We became friends and he’s been on every record I’ve made since. I alerted David Odlum of the Black Box Studio — another friend and collaborator of many years — of my plans to bring the Khoshravesh brothers to the studio at the last minute. He encouraged the idea of setting us all up in a room to improvise together, catching whatever came.

Earlier in the year I had been working on song ideas with two experimental electronic musicians, David Cleary (DEASY) and Dunk Murphy (Sunken Foal). We had informally formed a band called The Invisible Brethren. The nature of their music making had pulled my writing into an area I was eager to pursue. I asked these two to join in with the core group of Joe, Ruth and Javier, and the new addition of the Khoshravesh brothers. The possibilities of what might emerge in the studio with this broad set of musicians changed my view of the record I was making.

I then invited more friends to join us:

Graham Hopkins and Earl Harvin came in on drums and percussion; Michael Buckley on saxophone, horns and flute; Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich, the great traditional Irish musician, along with Cape Breton violinist, Rosie MacKenzie; Aida Shahghasemi, Iranian singer and Daf player; Eamon O’Leary (The Murphy Beds) on banjo, bouzouki, and mandolin; Anna Roberts-Gevalt (Anna & Elizabeth) and Brían Mac Gloinn (Ye Vagabonds) on fiddle. My touring string section – String Féin – featuring Una O’Kane, Katie O’Connor and Paula Hughes joined as well. Last minute satellite additions came from friends Markéta Irglová on vocals and Rob Moose on string arrangements.

It became quickly apparent in the studio we were onto something interesting. I was finding new ways into the existing songs and we were improvising new ideas every day. When you surround yourself with great musicians and do your best to keep up, stay loose, give little direction, and allow everyone to bring what they bring, something transformative may happen. This collection of songs is mainly made up of those that came through while improvising and following the melodic lines and threads. Sometimes when you take a small musical fragment and you care for it, follow it, and build it up slowly, it can become a thing of wonder. In this sense, some of these songs weren’t written in the traditional form; they were ideas followed to a conclusion. I want to thank all these great musicians for coming and giving these songs their best.

All a song wants is to be heard. I hope something in this music can be of use to you. I know it’s been of great use to me to make it. Beauty is in the ear of the behearer.

credits

released April 12, 2019

Recorded and Mixed by David Odlum at Black Box Studios, France
Except Don’t Settle recorded at Electrical Audio, Chicago by Greg Norman & Leave a Light recorded at Reservoir Studios, NYC by Patrick Dillet
Both mixed by David Odlum
Strings on I’ll be you, be me recorded by Karl Odlum
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering
Artwork by Banjo, Maire and Mooneye
Front Cover Artwork by Olga Karlíková
by kind permission of the artist’s family
GH Portrait by Maire Saaritsa
Bonfire Photograph by David Cleary
Naomhóg painting by Liam Holden
and Danny Sheahy
All songs by Glen Hansard (Warner/Chappell Music) except ‘The Closing Door’ Hansard/Deasy (Warner/Chappell Music), and ‘I’ll Be You, Be Me’ Hansard/Mercury/Deacon (Warner/Chappell Music, Queen Music Ltd c/o Beechwood Music Corp.), which contains portions of the song ‘Cool Cat’ by Queen. Thank you Claire Leadbitter, Howard Greynolds & everyone.

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