People have long inspired songwriters and artists. Specifically, people’s faces have helped influence songwriters’ music and poetry for decades now.
Below, we’ve ranked some of the best 20 songs about faces. From iconic songs from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones, every song listed here is about faces!
1. “I’ve Just Seen a Face” by The Beatles
The Beatles released the song “I’ve Just Seen a Face” on their 1965 album Help! Paul McCartney wrote and sang this song, though the song is credited to both McCartney and John Lennon.
McCartney sings about how he saw a girl’s face and subsequently fell in love. As a result, this song often is touted as a “love at first sight” song!
2. “I Just Want to See His Face” by The Rolling Stones
“I Just Want to See His Face” by The Rolling Stones is one of their most interesting songs. The legendary band released the song on their 1972 album Exile on Maine St. As the song fades in and fades out, it feels as if much has been left out of the song.
Whose face does the bank talk about? Jesus’. The lyrics say, “Then you don’t want to walk and talk about Jesus / You just want to see his face”.
3. “I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind” by The Doors
The Doors released “I Can’t See Your Face In My Mind” on their 1967 album Strange Days. Throughout the song, they sing that they cannot see one’s face in their mind.
As a result, many believe the song deals with face blindness. This condition makes it impossible for people to see and accurately remember someone’s face once they depart from them.
4. “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face” by Shania Twain
Throughout Shania Twain’s 2002 song “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face”, Twain sings about everything else this one woman is. She’s not just gorgeous. She’s also a TV host, a surgeon, an astronaut, and a mother of three.
Twain’s saying that you may just see a pretty face, but the woman you see is so much more than that. Once you get to know her, you learn more about who she really is!
5. “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack
British songwriter Ewan MacColl wrote “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in 1957. Since its inception, the song was covered by a variety of different artists. However, Roberta Flack’s 1972 version made the song a huge hit throughout various countries around the world.
Today, Flack’s version is often considered the most beloved — and the best — version of the song. The song details how the songwriter felt when they saw their romantic partner’s face for the first time.
6. “Sea of Smiling Faces” by Bee Gees
The Bee Gees’ 1972 song “Sea of Smiling Faces” details the end of a romantic relationship. The singer knows that now that the relationship is done, nothing will bring his ex back to him.
The lyrics state, “As I gaze upon a sea of smiling faces / Walk amongst the glow of moonlit places / The look in your eyes, to see your smile / Won’t bring you back to me”.
7. “Always See Your Face” by Love
Love released “Always See Your Face” on their 1969 album Four Sail. The song details how no matter where the singer goes, he will always see someone’s face. Likely, this someone is a romantic partner — or an ex!
Now, there are many different ways one could decipher the meaning of the song. Throughout the song, the singer details some difficulties they’ve been through. For example, they sing “Won’t somebody please help me with my miseries? / Can somebody see, yeah, what this world has done to me?”
Then, they sing that they always see their romantic partner’s (or ex’s) face. As a result, this could mean that they see their face in a positive light — or in a negative, painful way.
8. “Your Smiling Face” by James Taylor
James Taylor’s “Your Smiling Face”, first released in 1977, became a huge hit around the world. Throughout the song, Taylor sings about how happy he feels now that he’s in his relationship. Every time he sees his partner’s smiling face, he can’t help but smile, too!
9. “Faces” by Run-DMC
Run-DMC released “Faces” on their 1990 album Back From Hell. The song became a huge hit on the rap and R&B charts when it was first released.
Throughout the song, Run-DMC talks about the many different faces they see. First, they talk about how a face is all up in their own face. But later, they also sing about how they’re looking out at so many faces in the crowd while they’re performing!
10. “Smiling Faces Sometimes” by The Temptations
The Temptations’ 1971 hit song “Smiling Faces Sometimes” discusses how sometimes you can’t trust a smiling face. The Temptations sing, “Smiling faces sometimes pretend to be your friend / Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within”.
Throughout the song, they sing about how you really cannot trust anyone, even if they smile. You have to work out for yourself whether the smiling person in front of you can be trusted.
Towards the end of the song, the lyrics state, “The impossible task is to figure out which of the smiles is a mask”.
11. “My Brave Face” by Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney released “My Brave Face” on his 1989 album Flowers in the Dirt. Throughout this song, McCartney sings about how he has a brave face. Therefore, one can theorize that he’s wearing a sort of mask and disguising who he really is.
This is later confirmed when he discusses how he feels when he gets low. When he feels bad, he can no longer get to the place where he can then put on his brave face.
12. “Funny Face” by Donna Fargo
When Donna Fargo first released “Funny Face” in 1972, the song became a huge hit and landed on top of many music charts. “Funny Face” is a love song about how much Fargo loves her partner. The term “Funny Face” is used as a term of endearment here in this song!
13. “Two Faces” by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen released “Two Faces” on his 1987 album Tunnel of Love. In this song, Springsteen sings about how he has two faces. He says or wants one thing, but then he does another.
For example, early in the song, he talks about he promised a girl he would never make her cry. However, he ended up doing exactly that. As a result, the relationship didn’t end up working out!
14. “Have You Seen Her Face” by The Byrds
The Byrds’ 1967 song “Have You Seen Her Face” details how the singer finds a woman beautiful… yet also knows that he must hide from her.
At the beginning of the song, The Byrds’ lyrics state, “Have you seen her face? / Her eyes reflect the colors in the sky / A warm familiar place / To be swept into whenever she’s close by”.
But later, in the chorus, the band warns to run away from her and try to hide from the look in her eye. Elsewhere in the song, they also single that this woman will put you under her spell!
15. “A Face in the Crowd” by Tom Petty
Tom Petty released his hit song “A Face in the Crowd” on his 1989 album Full Moon Fever. The song hit the charts in the United States and continues to be beloved by fans.
In this song, Petty is talking to his romantic partner. He sings about how before they ever met, his partner was just “another face in the crowd”. However, his partner was also “Out of a dream, out of the sky / Into my heart, into my life”.
16. “Baby Face” by Little Richard
“Baby Face” was first published in 1926 and has long been considered a very popular Tin Pan Alley song.
Little Richard’s version of the song, which he released in 1958, is considered one of the most popular renditions of the song. In fact, Little Richard’s version hit the charts in the United State and the UK!
“Baby Face” is a love song. Little Richard sings about how much he loves the “Baby Face” of his romantic partner. He also sings how he’s in heaven with her.
17. “Eyes Without a Face” by Billy Idol
“Eyes Without a Face” by Billy Idol hit the charts in the United States when it was first released in 1983 and it became a huge hit. It still remains a classic for many fans today!
Idol opens the song with the lyric, “I’m all out of hope”. While there are many ways one could find the meaning of the song, it does appear that Idol is discussing the breakdown of a relationship.
His ex is “Eyes Without a Face”. They “got no human face”. Idol did a lot to try to stay or be with them. Now, he regrets everything he did, as everything has fallen apart.
18. “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga released “Poker Face” as her second single off her debut album, 2008’s The Fame. The song became a huge hit when it was released and was praised by critics and audiences alike. As a result, the song became one of the best-selling singles of all time!
In this song, Gaga sings that “he can’t read my poker face”. She keeps her real feelings to herself, and he can’t see this. After this lyric, Gaga also sings “she’s got me like nobody”, hinting that the man she’s with doesn’t know she’s thinking about another woman instead!
19. “Dance All Over Your Face” by Kiss
1983’s “Dance All Over Your Face” by Kiss details the end of a romantic relationship. In this song, Kiss sings about how the relationship ended and now the girl is playing it cool. Therefore, the singer will also play it cool, too. As a result, he will “Dance All Over Your Face”.
20. “That Face” by Barbra Streisand
“That Face” by Barbra Streisand also deals with a romantic relationship. Here, Streisand sings about how much she loves the person she is with.
Streisand sings,” I love that face, that face, it just isn’t fair / You must forgive the way that I stare”. Streisand loves her romantic partner’s beautiful face and just can’t seem to forget about him, even when they’re apart!
Listen to the full playlist on YouTube here.