Irish musician Glen Hansard passed away on July 28th after a motorcycle accident. From around the world, musicians paid tribute to Hansard with heartfelt reflections and some, with his music. Such was the case for Tori Amos, who was performing in Boston two days after Hansard’s death. After an improvised sung intro, where Amos sang, “and whether they are near or far, to do this song, you’ll think of someone, you loved, but they are gone,” she slowly segued into “Falling Slowly.” The song, which Hansard co-wrote with Markéta Irglová, his bandmate in The Swell Season, won the Oscar for best original song after the two sang it in the film Once.
In the fan-shot video below, you can hear a few gasps as fans recognize the song. Like Amos’ other musical tributes throughout her career, (she famously covered Don McLean‘s “American Pie” after the death of Kurt Cobain,) it is a touching tribute to a voice that we won’t be able to see grow and develop.
