Idol began his music career in late 1976 as a guitarist in the punk rock band Chelsea. However, he soon left the group. With his former bandmate Tony James, Idol formed Generation X. With Idol as lead singer, the band achieved success in the United Kingdom and released three studio albums on Chrysalis Records, then disbanded. In 1981, Idol moved to New York City to pursue his solo career in collaboration with guitarist Steve Stevens. His debut studio album, Billy Idol (1982), was a commercial success. With music videos for singles "Dancing with Myself" and "White Wedding" Idol soon became a staple of then newly-established MTV.
Idol's second studio album, Rebel Yell (1983), was a major commercial success, featuring hit singles "Rebel Yell" and "Eyes Without a Face". The album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of two million copies in the US. In 1986, he released Whiplash Smile. Having accumulated three UK top 10 singles ("Rebel Yell", "White Wedding" and "Mony Mony"), Idol released a 1988 greatest hits album titled Idol Songs: 11 of the Best; the album went platinum in the United Kingdom. Idol then released Charmed Life (1990) and the concept album Cyberpunk (1993).
Idol spent the second half of the 1990s focusing on his personal life out of the public eye. He made a musical comeback with the release of Devil's Playground (2005) and again with Kings & Queens of the Underground (2014).
84 Eyes Without A Face
Billy Idol Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One more bad dream could bring a fall
When I'm far from home
Don't call me on the phone
To tell me you're alone
It's easy to deceive
It's easy to tease
But hard to get release
Eyes without a face
Eyes without a face
Eyes without a face
Got no human grace your eyes without a face.
I spend so much time
Believing all the lies
To keep the dream alive
Now it makes me sad
It makes me mad at truth
For loving what was you
Eyes without a face
Eyes without a face
Eyes without a face
Got no human grace your eyes without a face.
When you hear the music you make a dip
Into someone else's pocket then make a slip.
Steal a car and go to las vegas oh, the gigolo pool.
Hanging out by the state line,
Turning holy water into wine
Drinkin' it down
I'm on a bus on a psychedelic trip
Reading murder books tryin' to stay hip.
I'm thinkin' of you you're out there so
Say your prayers.
Say your prayers.
Say your prayers.
Now I close my eyes
And I wonder why
I don't despise
Now all I can do
Is love what was once
So alive and new
But it's gone from your eyes
I'd better realize
Eyes without a face
Eyes without a face
Eyes without a face
Got no human grace your eyes without a face.
Such a human waste your eyes without a face
And now it's getting worse.
In Billy Idol's song "Eyes Without A Face," the singer expresses his feelings of hopelessness and sadness, as well as his regret over a lost love. He is all out of hope because he is constantly living in fear that one bad dream could lead to his downfall. When he is away from home, he does not want to be bothered, especially not by a call that simply states how alone the person on the other end is. The idea of being alone is easy to fake or to play with, yet it is challenging to find true release from those feelings.
The pre-chorus of the song highlights the battle between truth and lies, and how the singer had to make a choice to believe one over the other in order to keep the idea of his dream alive. Now, the realization that the dream was just that, a dream, makes him sad and angry. The chorus repeats the phrase "Eyes Without A Face" multiple times, which serves to represent how this lost love was once the most important thing in his life, but now, there appears to be no emotion, no human grace in their eyes.
In the last stanza of the song, the singer admits that all he can do is look back and love the memory of the person who was once "alive and new." However, it is clear that they have since moved on and the person he loved is not the same anymore, which is why he needs to accept that his love was most likely unrequited.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm all out of hope
I have lost all my optimism and faith
One more bad dream could bring a fall
Another negative experience could cause me to break down
When I'm far from home
When I am not in my usual environment
Don't call me on the phone
Do not contact me via telephone
To tell me you're alone
Just to inform me that you are by yourself
It's easy to deceive
It is simple to mislead or cheat
It's easy to tease
It is effortless to provoke or make fun of someone
But hard to get release
However, it is difficult to obtain freedom or liberation
Eyes without a face
Someone without a true identity
Got no human grace your eyes without a face.
Displays a lack of empathy or compassion
I spend so much time
I dedicate a lot of my time and energy
Believing all the lies
Accepting all the falsehoods as true
To keep the dream alive
To maintain the illusion that things are good
Now it makes me sad
Currently, I feel unhappy
It makes me mad at truth
Truth causes me to feel angry
For loving what was you
For feeling a deep love for the person you used to be
When you hear the music you make a dip
When you hear the melody, you start to move rhythmically
Into someone else's pocket then make a slip.
You take someone else's money and then make a mistake
Steal a car and go to Las Vegas oh, the gigolo pool.
Steal a vehicle and go to Las Vegas to engage in sex work
Hanging out by the state line,
Spending time at the border between two regions
Turning holy water into wine
Transforming a sacred substance into an alcoholic beverage
Drinkin' it down
Consuming it all
I'm on a bus on a psychedelic trip
I am on a coach bus during a hallucinogenic experience
Reading murder books tryin' to stay hip.
Reading crime novels to appear cool and relevant
I'm thinkin' of you you're out there so
I am thinking of you even though you are elsewhere
Say your prayers.
Request to someone else to pray
Now I close my eyes
I chose to shut my eyes
And I wonder why
I reflect on the reason
I don't despise
I do not hate
Now all I can do
The single action that is possible for me
Is love what was once
Is to feel affection for what used to exist
So alive and new
So full of life and novelty
But it's gone from your eyes
But it is no longer evident from your demeanor or expression
I'd better realize
I need to comprehend and accept that fact
Such a human waste your eyes without a face
It is a shame and a terrible thing to lack a genuine personhood
And now it's getting worse.
Currently, the situation is deteriorating
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BILLY IDOL, STEVE STEVENS, WILLIAM BROAD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ssayonei
I’m leaving my comment here so when someone likes it, I can listen to this masterpiece again.🤩
@cleech74
You’re welcome.😀 Also, that’s a brilliant idea. Gonna do the same thing.
@grimmvalentine6558
🤘🏾
@fatboyrowing
You better start listening…. Hopefully you got the notice of this comment.
@ironmikesinto7942
🙂❤️
@SkateBox900
👀
@miguelmendoza5403
There are certain 80's songs that give me an overwhelmingly painful and bittersweet sense of nostalgia. This is definitely one of them.
@andreaceccarini7499
Miguel Mendoza you are so right!!!! You admirably described what I usually feels whenever I listen to many 80's masterpieces such as this one !! 👏👏😢😕🤗🙋
@igorjcpinho
Exactly what I feel, good to know that people usually feels the same, now I am pretty sure that this is a common feeling among good hearted people 🙌🏻
@duanewilson9816
I feel u