DUBLIN — In one of the most poignant tributes the music world has witnessed in years, U2 has shared the rewritten lyrics to “Beautiful Day” that Bono and the Edge composed for the funeral of their close friend, the Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard.

Hansard, the Oscar-winning frontman of The Frames and half of The Swell Season, died on July 29 at the age of 56 following a motorcycle crash. His death triggered a global outpouring of grief, which culminated Tuesday in a star-studded requiem at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, where thousands gathered on the green outside to farewell a man many described as the industry’s most generous soul.

A Lullaby, a Poem, and a Cathedral in Song

During the service, Bono played a musical voicemail from Patti Smith — her first reaction to hearing of Hansard’s passing — which he described as “a lullaby for Glen’s family.” The U2 frontman then recited the reworked “Beautiful Day” verses as a spoken-word elegiac poem, before the congregation joined in song. Eddie Vedder performed Hansard’s “The Song of Good Hope” alongside Markéta Irglová, who shared the 2008 Best Original Song Oscar with Hansard for “Falling Slowly” from Once, with both singers later joining a group rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.”

“See those eyes flashing landing light blue / Seven towers holding up the sky for you / Arrivals and departures, this is what we do / You write your life ‘til the story becomes true / Ginger cake smile, a movie star too / If the street be your stage how come there’s thousands in the queue / McDaid’s feels like a stadium but there’s only me and you / You left a hangover from hell, of this there is no doubt / But as you wake up in heaven, all the angels will shout.”

The band posted the verses on Instagram alongside a painting of Hansard by artist Colin Davidson, framing the tribute as a celebration of his singular gift for friendship. “How do you do that?” Bono asked mourners. “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.”

The Busker Who Became Everybody’s Best Friend

From his beginnings as a teenage busker on Dublin’s Grafton Street to an Academy Award and a decades-long catalogue of aching, joyful songs, Hansard built a career on radical openness. That ethos was mirrored in the funeral’s final moments, as the cathedral — and the crowds beyond it — sang a rousing “Beautiful Day” back to the man who once wrote that the heart is a bloom shooting up through the stony ground.

The Official Tribute

Further reading: Rolling Stone’s full report on U2’s rewritten ‘Beautiful Day’ and Consequence’s coverage of the Dublin funeral.