From the archives: "Once" songwriter Glen Hansard

That you need?

Yeah.

He's been a street musician since he was 13. New York's a funny city to busk in because there's so much--

Noise?

You only realize it when you take out an instrument and you try to play.

Glen Hansard started playing Dublin street corners. You need walls like this then? This is kind of-- well, this is like an Irish street.

Just him and his guitar. You've played right through it, literally?

Yeah, that's busking. That's the shape of your strum. (SINGING) I love--

He learned how to project his voice and draw a crowd. (SINGING) Show yourself to me! La, la, la, la, la. How are you? I'm great. I hope it's OK I brought a few.

For you, it's cool.

Ah, good man. (SINGING) Take care what you see. [APPLAUSE]

But it was nothing like the attention he would get from Once. You'll get your girlfriend back, and you'll get your record deal and become famous.

The low-budget Irish film, in which Hansard starred as a busker, became an unexpected international hit in 2007. [GLEN HANSARD, "FALLING SLOWLY"] We've still got time

And "Falling Slowly," the song he wrote with his costar Markéta Irglová, won them an Oscar. (SINGING) You've made it now It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we'd ever come into a room like this and be in front of you people. Thanks. When we won that award, it was just like, oh my God. It was like the most amazing thing. And then my thing was immediately to just say, OK, thanks. Thanks. Now, let's-- Move on. And then when there was talk of it going to Broadway, I remember being very nervous, and, honestly, like, I was against it. You didn't want a Broadway musical? No because for me, Broadway just sort of meant sort of hamming it up, and it sort of meant like, (SINGING) I don't know. And of course you're tempted by the idea of people whispering in your ear going, do you know if this does. well, you're going to be seriously rich? And going like, that's not why. That was never why we did this. [MUSIC PLAYING] How long do you think you'd stay?

Hansard relented, and the musical Oncelast year won eight Tony Awards. They did treat it with grace. They did treat it with respect. They did get the right people.

When he's not on tour, home for the 42-year-old singer is a rented cottage on this estate outside Dublin. You're kind of tucked out of the way out here. It's brilliant, you know? It's an amazing place to live. You want the apple?

He took us to a Dublin pub to share a pint with Frankie Byrne, his former grade-school principal who told him it was OK to quit school at 13 to pursue music. For me, that was just the wings I needed. So I went home and basically announced to me ma that, listen, it's OK. Frankie told me it's-- You have permission. [LAUGHTER] One of my proudest moments is my dereliction of duty. That's it.

And he still knows most of the street musicians in the city. Mary's here every single day, and she's a great busker, and she's been there since I was a child. How are you, Mary? How long have you been here, Mary, in this spot? 1986. [MUSIC PLAYING] Dance.

Hansard used to play here on Grafton Street. Thank you, Mary. Thank you, Mary. So where was your spot? I'll bring you up to it.

He'd busk during the day, then come back again at night.

Because when the pubs close--

That's prime time? Everyone's drunk. It's a lot more dangerous. People are more generous when they're drunk? That's the thing. It's a tougher gig, but you make more money. [THE FRAMES, "REVELATE"] This time, I need your revelation

At 18, he formed a band called The Frames. This video, made on a post-office security camera for less than $5, was picked up by MTV. Then one of his former bandmates asked him to help with a small film he was making. The success of that film puts you in the spotlight in a way you'd never been in before, and it put the romance you ended up having in the spotlight. It didn't help our relationship. [VOCALIZING]

During filming, Hansard fell in love with Irglová, his friend and costar, who was 18 years younger. Part of what made Oncework was that there was always this energy between us, this beautiful, powerful, romantic, creative energy that was there. [MUSIC PLAYING] When your mind's made up When your mind's made up You'd be a fool to deny it.

They would form a band, The Swell Season, and toured together. You continued touring even after you broke up. Yeah. That must have been hard. It was hard, and it was something we addressed all the time. It was like, are you still enjoying this? If you said to me you could have had all this success or you could have just had a great relationship with Mar, I'd have took the relationship because it was the most profound and beautiful thing I had been through. It's all there. It's all on the record. [LAUGHTER] [GLEN HANSARD, "LOVE DON'T LEAVE ME WAITING"] Love, you've been hesitating

Hansard's first solo album, Rhythm and Repose, is about putting it all behind him and about his family. He grew up with an alcoholic father who physically abused his mother. At a very early age, I kind of learned this pattern. Whenever something good happens, something bad follows immediately. And we spent a lot of our childhood in aunts' houses, in battered wives' homes, and in long periods of living in a dorm, like--

Away from him? Away from him. [GLEN HANSARD, "BIRD OF SORROW"] Tethered to a burden of sorrow

Hansard says he wrote the song "Bird of Sorrow" about his mom. (SINGING) --self deceiving You prostrate, bow, but not believing "Tethered to a bird of sorrow" means a few things in my head when I sing it. It's us, me and my brother with her and her with him. (SINGING) You bet your joy on all tomorrows for the hope of some returning, while everything around you is burning Growing up, it's a funny thing to feel more like an adult than your parents when you're a kid.

Catherine Hansard accompanied her son to the Academy Awards. He gave her his Oscar, and she keeps it by her bedside. Glen Hansard is one of Ireland's most highly regarded musicians now. One more time, [INAUDIBLE]. (SINGING) 'Cause nothing--

And the past few years over Christmas, he's returned to Dublin to busk for charity with other Irish artists like Sinéad O'Connor and Bono. (SINGING) Baby, please come home. I get the sense, just in walking around with you here in New York and in Ireland, that you'll always be at home playing a guitar on the street. You're never more than a step away from it. [VOCALIZING] I'm going to see you there You can climb all the levels of success and of celebrity or of fame, but you're never more than a step away from being that guy who's just making his money for the day. Cheers, guys. Thanks a lot. Thanks for listening. Nice one. [GLEN HANSARD, "LOVE DON'T LEAVE ME WAITING"] Lover, you've been hesitating You've been hanging on for that sign too long And lover, you've been leaving me waiting And I don't know why or what it is I've done And love, don't leave me guessing Oh, lover, don't keep me here Show yourself to me And time, you've been erasing You've been running out on me And tongues, you've been a-talking And you've been saying what you really mean What you mean And lover, don't leave me waiting Oh, lover, don't leave me here Show yourself to me! Yeah. [VOCALIZING] Hey, now Hey, now, where's your love gone? Show me where it is Show me what we've done Hey, love, don't leave me waiting Oh, lover, don't leave me here Hey, love, don't leave me guessing Oh, lover, don't leave me here Show yourself to me Oh, show yourself Show a little bit of yourself to me Yeah Show a little bit of respect for yourself and for me Yeah, just like you did Oh, R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find out what it means to me R-E-S-P-E-C-T Take care of TCB [APPLAUSE] Busking in New York City.

Thank you.

Nice.

Thank You.

Thanks, guys.