We all know there are many songs about eyes, as it’s a feature that so many songwriters focus on. But what about noses?
Believe it or not, there are also many songs that mention noses! These songs range from talking about uppity people who look down their noses at others, to songs that deftly describe a person or character by also describing their nose.
Below, we’ve listed 20 of our favorite songs about noses, from a variety of different genres!
1. “I Threw Away the Rose” by Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard’s 1967 song “I Threw Away the Rose”, which was released on his album Branded Man, is the first song about noses we’ll talk about! This song opens with the lyric, “Once I lived the life of wine and roses”.
Haggard tells a story about how he started to drink, thinking everything would be fine. However, things began to change when he relied too much on the bottle — and he lost his friends in the process. He sings, “Now all my social friends look down their noses / ‘Cause I kept the wine and threw away the rose”.
2. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry
Gene Autry’s 1949 song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, which a lot of artists have covered for the Christmas holidays, is one of the best songs about noses! Autry sings about the story of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer!
He sings, “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer / Had a very shiny nose / And if you ever saw it / You would even say it glows”.
The other reindeer tease Rudolph because of his nose. But in the end, he becomes the most popular reindeer of all!
3. “In Spite of Ourselves” by John Prine
John Prine’s 1999 song “In Spite of Ourselves”, which features Iris DeMent, discusses a romance that will last. In this song, Prine flips the common idiom “Cut off your nose to spite your face”.
Instead, when discussing that this relationship is going to last the test of time, he sings the lyrics, “We’re gonna spite our noses right off of our faces / There won’t be nothin’ but big old hearts dancin’ in our eyes”.
4. “Puttin’ On the Ritz” by Taco
Taco’s hit 1982 song “Puttin’ On the Ritz” discusses dressing up for a night on the town. Though the initial 1920s song was written to talk about wealthy people dressing up and going to poor neighborhoods to have fun, later revised lyrics discuss poor people dressing up and going to wealthy areas to have fun. Taco’s version of the song is the latter!
As Taco discusses going out in the wealthy part of town, he discusses the rich people who live there. Thus, he also talks about how they look down their noses at everyone else!
He sings, “Have you seen the well-to-do / Up and down Park Avenue? / On that famous thoroughfare / With their noses in the air”.
5. “Cemetry Gates” by The Smiths
“Cemetry Gates” by The Smiths appears on the band’s 1986 album The Queen Is Dead. In this song, singer Morrissey talks about walking through a cemetery with one of his friends. He also talks heavily about writing and romantic poetry.
It is in his discussion with a friend that he talks about noses. Or, more specifically, people with big noses who will always say they are smarter than you!
Morrissey tells his friend, and us, to never plagiarize or steal someone else’s work. He explains, “Don’t plagiarise or take on loan / ‘Cause there’s always someone, somewhere with a big nose, who knows”.
6. “Must Be Santa” by Bob Dylan
Here’s another Christmas song! Bob Dylan’s “Must Be Santa” also discusses noses. Throughout this song, Dylan describes the features of Santa Claus. So, he also has to describe his nose! He sings, “Who’s got a big red cherry nose? / Santa’s got a big red cherry nose”.
7. “Walking in the Sunshine” by Frank Sinatra
“Walking in the Sunshine” by Frank Sinatra also talks about noses. In this song, Sinatra talks about how he can always see the sunshine, even when it’s raining. This is all the result of him being in love!
He also talks about how he doesn’t freeze when it’s winter. He sings the lyrics, “While all the world have frosty noses, I’m knee-deep in roses / Walking in the sunshine of your love”.
8. “Us” by Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor released her song “Us” on her 2004 album Soviet Kitsch. In this song, Spektor sings from the point of view of a former leader who has now become a statue. The song seems to be heavily inspired by the former communist rulers of Russia, such as Lenin and Stalin.
Spektor says that tourists come to see “Us” and people blame them for what has happened to the country. She also talks about the features of the statues, singing, “They made a statue of us / Our noses have begun to rust”.
9. “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat
Colbie Caillat’s hit 2007 song “Bubbly” also mentions noses! Caillat sings about falling in love and having a crush on someone in this song. She feels butterflies around this person. Even if it’s raining, she’s still happy!
As she discusses how happy she is, she also talks about laughing and smiling all the time. She sings, “It starts in my toes and I crinkle my nose / Wherever it goes, I always know”.
10. “Straight Talk” by Dolly Parton
In Dolly Parton’s 1992 song “Straight Talk”, Parton talks about how she just wants to have conversations that are clear and to the point. She doesn’t want to be misled or confused by a rambling conversation. Instead, she wants “Straight Talk”.
Through this idea, she also mentions noses! She sings the lyrics, “So come on let’s talk turkey, just straight and to the point / About passions, about problems, about noses out of joint”.
11. “Somebody to Love” by Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Musgraves released her song “Somebody to Love” on her 2015 album Pageant Material. Throughout this entire song, Musgraves sings about how we all really are just searching for “Somebody to Love”. We may go about this in different ways, but we all do the same thing.
At the beginning of this song, she mentions everybody’s features and flaws, mentioning noses in the process. She sings, “We’re all hoping, we’re all hopeless / We’re all thorns and we’re all roses / We’re all looking down our noses at ourselves”.
12. “Peaceful World” by John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp’s 2001 song “Peaceful World” discusses how the world is peaceful. However, Mellencamp also recognizes that more work has to be done to spread this peace. He also mentions people who tear others apart, calling them hypocrites.
For example, he sings, “The hypocrites made it worse and worse / Lookin’ down their noses at what people say”.
13. “Wrap Her Up” by Elton John
Elton John released his 1985 song “Wrap Her Up”, which features George Michael, on his album Ice on Fire. In this song, the two sing about women they admire and want to be with.
While describing these ladies, they sing, “They may be shady, English roses / Blue blooded, turned up noses / Money talks, see what it catches”.
14. “Dear Old Sun” by Miranda Lambert
In Miranda Lambert’s song “Dear Old Sun”, which appears on the 2016 album The Weight of These Wings, Lambert discusses her hard times and how she feels she can always rely on the sun. The sun will always be there to shed a little light her way — even when everything else in her life is falling apart.
When singing about the sun, she says, “Well, you melt the snow / And you grow the roses / And you dry the tears / And you freckle noses”.
15. “Unpretty” by TLC
TLC’s 1999 song “Unpretty” discusses the many things that women feel they must do to be considered pretty. Therefore, they feel they must get work done on their face, dye their hair, and more.
In this song, TLC talks back to those who have made them feel as if they needed to do this. These people made them feel as if they were “Unpretty”.
By discussing these issues, they also mention noses. TLC sings, “You can buy your hair if it won’t grow / You can fix your nose if he says so / You can buy all the make-up / That M.A.C. can make”.
At the end of the day, TLC says that if you can’t look inside yourself and love yourself, you’ll never be able to call yourself pretty. Therefore, it’s what’s on the inside that counts!
16. “Big Brother” by David Bowie
David Bowie’s 1974 song “Big Brother”, which appears on his hit album Diamond Dogs, opens with the lyrics, “Don’t talk of dust and roses / Or should we powder our noses?”.
This song was inspired by George Orwell’s novel 1984. Therefore, the “Big Brother” that Bowie sings about is the controller of a government and of a people!
17. “Watch Your Step” by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello’s 1981 song “Watch Your Step” also talks about noses. Throughout this song, Costello sings about how everybody better watch out. People have broken free of prison and you can’t trust anybody.
He also sings, “Broken noses hung up on the wall / Back-slapping drinkers cheer the heavyweight brawl / So punch drunk they don’t understand at all / You better watch your step”.
18. “Plastic Man” by The Kinks
In The Kinks’ 1973 song “Plastic Man”, the band sings about a man who is loved by all his neighbors. They all think he’s so nice and calm. However, the band says he’s really a “Plastic Man”.
As they describe this “Plastic Man”, they describe his many features. They sing, “He’s got plastic knees and a perfect plastic nose”.
19. “Sorry” by Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears released their song “Sorry” on their 1995 album Raoul and the Kings of Spain. In this song, the singer expresses his apologies to his romantic partner. He’s ready to move on and make things better, after he’s clearly done wrong. However, it seems his partner still isn’t moving on — and he doesn’t know what else he can do.
He sings, “What do I have to do / To save you from worry? / Cut off my nose to spite my face”. To “cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face” means to hurt yourself to bring pain to somebody else. However, here the singer is wondering if he has to continue to hurt himself for his partner to be happy.
20. “The Archer” by Taylor Swift
Finally, we have Taylor Swift’s 2019 song “The Archer”. This song also uses the phrase “cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face”! In this song, Swift discusses her past romantic relationships and how she has done wrong. However, she wants to do everything she can to hold on to her current relationship.
She sings the lyrics, “And I cut off my nose just to spite my face / Then I hate my reflection for years and years”. Here, she could be saying that actions she did in the past to hurt someone only came back to hurt her — and she regrets what she’s done now.