The history of the song, “Faceless Man”

On my About page I describe the time I spent living in a barn out in the woods between 2001 and 2003.  It was just a barn, but it was a very nice barn, with electricity and a spigot for fresh water.  I put my futon in the hay loft, and I set up some rudimentary recording gear and a word processor in the tack room, and I spent my time recording songs and writing books (except when I had to drive out of town for days at a time for work but we don’t have to get into that).  It was idyllic.

One of the songs I recorded during the Barnlife years was this old gem called “Faceless Man.”  I wrote this one way back in 1999 and had previously recorded a different version with a much better drummer named Todd Wells.  On this version, it’s just me playing the drums & whatnot.

The lyrics to “Faceless Man”

“Faceless Man” is a song about a guy lost in his thoughts, contemplating the state of the world, absentmindedly picking at a flap of skin on his chin until he unintentionally peels off his own face.  It’s not meant to be gory: it’s meant to be allegory.  The song goes on to talk about how this faceless man is never noticed by the crowds of people on the street and on the bus.  It’s about life, man!  I hope you enjoy!

 

Credits:

Music, lyrics, performance (all instruments) & recording: Jesse Smith (performing as The Mushtones)

Stock video footage from pexels.com; stock photos from Pexels, Unsplash and Pixabay!