David Byrne - Seen and Not Seen lyrics

He would see faces in movies, on TV, in magazines, and in books He thought that some of these faces might be right for him And through the years, by keeping an ideal facial structure fixed in his mind Or somewhere in the back of his mind That he might, by force of will, cause his face to approach those of his ideal The change would be very subtle It might take ten years or so Gradually his face would change its shape A more hooked nose Wider, thinner lips Beady eyes A larger forehead He imagined that this was an ability he shared with most other people They had also molded their faces according to some ideal Maybe they imagined that their new face would better suit their personality Or maybe they imagined that their personality would be forced to change to fit the new appearance This is why first impressions are often correct Although some people might have made mistakes They may have arrived at an appearance that bears no relationship to them They may have picked an ideal appearance based on some childish whim, or momentary impulse Some may have gotten halfway there And then changed their minds He wonders if he too might have made a similar mistake