One of my favorite songs from a movie was when Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová sang “Falling Slowly” in the 2007 film Once. In a Dublin music instrument shop, Irglová sat at the piano and Hansard played guitar as their voices and the song beautifully revealed two people connecting deeply.
Hansard and Irglová wrote the song together during the production of the movie. It was released and performed during the time leading up to the film’s release, giving it a familiarity that helped carry the scene when I first watched the movie. The song went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Hansard and Irglová gave such a powerful performance of the song in Once, that it is hard to imagine another duo singing the song. That image is further burnished knowing that the two fell in love during the making of the movie, although the relationship only lasted a few years.
So, when I saw there was a clip with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder singing “Falling Slowly” with Glen Hansard, I was not sure what to expect. But of course, Vedder and Hansard are great singers and performers, so it pretty amazing to hear what their voices can do with the song too.
So, in this performance, Eddie Vedder and Glen Hansard perform “Falling Slowly” at the Ohana Fest in Dana Point California on September 9, 2017. The video begins with some discussion of their friendship and they get to the song around the 2:17 mark. Check it out. Make sure to stay for where Vedder’s voice rises and helps bring the song home starting around the 4:40 mark.
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