Billy Idol’s “Eyes Without a Face” Lyrics Meaning
The title of this song was derived from a 1960 French film named “Les Yeux sans Visage”. Listeners may notice that this is the same phrase repeated in the chorus. It translate into English as “eyes without a face”.
It has been postulated that this song is directly based on that film. Even if such is not the case, “Les Yeux sans Visage” has influenced this track beyond just its title.
All things considered, the central character is the singer. The beginning of the song depicts him as behind depressed, not too far from disaster. However, the main issue on his mind is someone who is apparently his lover. This is a person who for the most part he perceives as being untruthful. And ultimately, he concludes that she has “no human grace” and is “eyes without a face”. This seems to be his way of saying that, in his opinion, she treats him inhumanly and by extension is herself lesser of a human being.
However, he has decided to play her game in the name of perpetuating the romance. But now it seems he has come to regret that decision since it is contributing to his overall negative disposition. So the singer finally decides that it would be in his best interest to forsake the relationship and throw a few jabs at home girl on the way out.
Facts about “Eyes Without a Face”
- “Eyes Without a Face” was the first time Billy Idol cracked the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, where the song peaked at number four.
- This song also charted in a number of other countries, including reaching number 18 in the United Kingdom.
- “Eyes Without a Face” came out on 10 November 1983 as part of Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell album. Later it would serve as the second single released from that album.
- The official music video to this song received two nominations, including Best Cinematography in a Video at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards.
- Billy Idol actually suffered from an eye injury as a result of neglecting his contact lenses during the three-day shooting of the music video.
- The woman who provides the French vocals for “Eyes Without a Face” was Billy Idol’s girlfriend, a professional dancer by the name of Perri Lister, whom he dated throughout the ‘80s.
- The duo of Steve Stevens and Billy Idol both wrote and produced this track.
- Its publisher is Chrysalis Records.
Love it
Me too
I have liked this song for years, but never really knew the lyrics (until Youtube) nor their meaning. Until this. Speaks directly to my failed marriage. Hurt, sadness, anger, resignation, ambivalence – did it all.
The key is not to be a human without grace. Forgive her to be set free
No one cares, keep a diary and get over yourself.
Seems like you’re the one with a large ego, telling somebody that they can’t say why they like a song.
For me, this song represents the lie my wife lived while married to me. In the end she dropped me after 24 years of marriage, due to a neurological disease I had developed…….
I’m sorry for you and your wife….It reminded me of my ex.What disease do you suffer from?
Damn I wanted to know the answer to that question as well… Maybe homie had primary progressive multiple sclerosis like me, and lost his vision (ergo can’t see your question) I have partial vision left in my right eye but left side went out completely. Guess that makes me “Visage sans yeux” instead of the other way around… Kinda creepy to picture in my mind though — a face without the eyes – just hollowed out holes in on each side above/beside my nose….💀 Or maybe we can flash fwd a decade to another song by as another one of my idols – The late Layne Staley RIP – ugh I hate thinking back to that – anyway – first metal band was called Sleze which is what later turned into Alice ‘N Chains – and definitely alongside Nirvana shaped the entire world of rock music into grunge – tuning bass drop D & letting the feedback from the Marshall Stacks reverberate into the next chord on the fender strat… Well to the point: i pictured ‘Man In The Box’ 2nd with the lyrics:
‘Feed my eyes
(Can you sew them shut?)
Jesus Christ
(Deny your maker)
He who tries
(Will be wasted) oh
Feed my eyes
(Now you’ve sewn them) shut
Off of the album Facelift (irony not lost on me– that was 1990, same year Billy Idol almost died in a motorcycle crash – and that had a major impact on the renewed popularity of the album from 1983 (Rebel Yell which we’re commenting on the song eyes without a face here in the first place) I’m a firm believer in fate and destiny with respect to iconic – legendary – truly fuc**g over the moon and back cosmic once in eternity talent – how it’s formed, entwined, filled with a white hot burning power and then extinguished like like a cigarette in the ashtray… Only to inspire another person whose God /devil or whomever is the one calling the shots of the universe in which we are floating around in — meaningless with exception of the (again) shot caller who gives a shooting star life and a preset destiny, and let’s them come into our lives, shape our hearts and touch our souls, only to rip them away from the world — and the exceptions like Billy Idol are the rarity and wind up 70 with a Hulu Documentary and a 2nd RNR Hall of Fame nomination — the same year as a fuckton of huge has beens that will likely get more votes because they’re the mainstream pop stars that are loved by the masses, the ones who like music and think, “oh she’s so great!” But I’m over here screaming F**”OFF! Mariah Carey? C’mon! Shakira?!?! Fu** outta here! Wu Tang? Well I was actually a fan of the WU – but not like WHOA, and never had I felt that certainty that I was experiencing something so extremely rare and beautiful it cannot possibly live for long… Anyway I’m sorry for rambling on n on — and probably not making sense… I’m a little bit more than a lot of kinds of F**ked up myself… So – I hope I don’t have to clarify anything… This (if I came even close to saying what I am trying to say – I can’t see it to proof read and I don’t know how many typos or words I left out/autocorrect “fixed” for me – but anyway — Luv Peace & chicken grease — Rock N Fuc*n’ Roll b*tches 🤘🏽☠️🚬⌛💨🪦
😵 -Ouvre les yeux et écoute ce que tu vois. 🙈🦻🏽👂🏽👁️
this song and lyrics is truely a time related song..will never die
This was one of my best friend’s favorite songs growing up. He died way too young, RIP Anthony.
I am sorry for your lost
i lost about 80% of my friends , to drunk & car accidents , Alcohol , drugs , etc
the Good ones , the best ones were the first to leave , about this music
will be always actual , will always make sense no mater what year , decade or century
I will feel this way until I’ve felt this way, and never want to feel this way ever again. (if that makes any sense)
Parri Lister aged very well.
it’s a catchy title, but eyes without a face just means she’s just a pair of eyes to him. I really don’t get that analogy. A face with no eyes would be better as that would mean she was too blind to see him and whatever else she could be blind to
I agree
I’ve seen the movie, although I don’t know what the song has to do with it. Except for only the title.
I have the original film lobby poster – viciously perfect
Hello,
To me this song is about any time you have a relationship with someone, or some company (you may be a long-time customer) or something that has been intimate with you, and you discover that person or that company has done very bad things and has hurt many people, and you discover that person oror company cannot care for anyone else but themselves or itself. A person may turn out to be a sociopath, a company may turn out to be run by sociopaths. This song is about what happens, and how you feel, when you in fact discover this. A very good song for empaths like me
Nice night for a walk.
I too initially thought it was a story of a painful breakup of a love affair but now I wonder it’s a song about quitting heroin. there’s even a visual early in the vid that references shooting up.
Poor guy, glad he survived his addiction.
Billy said it was about a hitman