First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack

Album: First Take (1969)

Charted: 14 1

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

"First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" was a late bloomer. Written by the folk singer Ewan MacColl in 1957, it was first released in 1961 by Bonnie Dobson, with versions by The Kingston Trio, The Highwaymen, Peter, Paul and Mary, Gordon Lightfoot, Harry Belafonte and several others appearing before Roberta Flack included it on her 1969 debut album, First Take. She didn't put the song out as a single, but in 1971 Clint Eastwood decided he had to have it in his movie Play Misty For Me. When the film was released that October, it gave the song a lot of exposure, and in 1972 Flack's label, Atlantic Records, put it out as a single, cutting it down to 4:15 from the 5:22 album version.

The song went to #1 that April and stayed for six weeks, propelling Flack into the spotlight. By that time, she had released three albums but her only hit was a cover of "You've Got a Friend" that she recorded as a duet with Donny Hathaway, which went to #29 in 1971.
Ewan MacColl, who was born in Scotland and moved to England when he was young, wrote this song for his lover, Peggy Seeger. It was a long-distance relationship; she lived in New York City but met him in 1956 when she came to London as part of a folk group called The Ramblers. He was married to his second wife, Jean Newlove, at the time, but had an affair with Seeger and pined for her when she returned to America. MacColl was 41 and Seeger was 21 when they met, but they had an instant chemistry (she was also taller). He would send her letters and make very expensive phone calls to keep in touch. Seeger ended up working on a radio show in Los Angeles and asked MacColl for a love song she could sing. He wrote "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" for her and sang it to her over the phone. She started performing the song, but it didn't quite click that it was about her, expressing how he fell in love with her the first time he saw her face. They fell out of touch but in 1958 Seeger moved to France, and MacColl went to see her.

"All of a sudden, I realized that this man was very good for me and decided immediately to have a baby, which was one of the most silly things you can imagine," she said on the This Is Love podcast. "We were so delighted that the whole chase was over, and so I got pregnant."

But Seeger couldn't legally move to England, so MacColl convinced a friend of his, Alex Campbell (also a singer), to marry her so she could move there. She moved to England as his wife and formed a duo with MacColl, who was still married. Three years later, she divorced Campbell. MacColl remained married, but was cohabitating with Seeger, who were now tightly bonded as a couple and as a musical duo. They finally got married in 1977, soon after MacColl divorced Jean Newlove. They had two sons together, Neill and Calum MacColl, and were together until Ewan's death in 1989.

One of the reasons Seeger and MacColl finally got married in 1977 was because royalties were pouring in from "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," and their accountant told them it would be a good move financially.
Ewan MacColl, who wrote this song, never recorded it. It was Peggy Seeger performing the song that spread it around the folk music community and led to various cover versions in the '60s.
"First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" won the Grammy awards in 1973 for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, beating out Don McLean's "American Pie" in both categories. The next year, Flack won the same awards for "Killing Me Softly With His Song," a song inspired by... Don McLean!
Peggy Seeger, who popularized the song through live performances, didn't record it until 2012, when she did a dance version on Folksploitation, an album that found the 77-year-old folk singer collaborating with a DJ/producer operating under the name Broadcaster. "I couldn't sing it for 15 years after Ewan died but now I love to," she told Mojo.
The title shows up at the beginning and end of the song, but not in the middle. The second verse starts:
The first time ever I kissed your mouth

and the third verse begins:
And the first time ever I lay with you

There's no chorus - the song definitely requires some patience.
Elvis Presley released a very lounge-worthy cover in 1972 around the same time Flack's version was popular. Another notable cover is by Leona Lewis, who included it on her 2007 debut album, Spirit.

Barbra Streisand teamed with the Irish singer Hozier in 2025 to duet on "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." She was 83 and he was 35.
Roberta Flack admitted to Uncut magazine she had her doubts when Clint Eastwood called her about using the song for Play Misty For Me. She recalled: "I thought it was too slow. He was sure it wasn't. He was right - and I was pleasantly surprised."
Roberta Flack was introduced to "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" when her singer friend Donal Leace played her the folk duo Joe & Eddie's 1963 version. Flack, who was teaching at the time, fell in love with the song and taught it to the young girls in the Glee Club at Washington DC's Banneker Junior High School.

Flack would regularly perform "The First Time" at the Pennsylvania Avenue club Mr. Henry's, where she was a resident singer. After signing with Atlantic Records, it was one of her first choices when it came to choosing tracks for her debut album. "The tempo and arrangement of the song came as a part of the way I felt the story of the song," she explained to Songwriter Universe. "When you express your feelings about the first time you ever see a great love, you don't rush the story."
The song doesn't have any timely references or specific details, which gives it a timeless and malleable quality. "It's the bones of a story," Peggy Seeger explained. "People who listen to it, if you sing it very simply, can respond to it with their own experience, their own imagination, and that's what they do."
Thanks to this song's success, Roberta Flack's album First Take, released in June 1969, went to #1 in April 1972 and stayed there for five weeks. Also in April 1972 she released a duets album with Donny Hathaway called Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, which includes their hit "Where Is The Love?"

Comments: 31

Clyde Horn from FlorencePopular lyrics from "The First Time" ... "are i kissed your mouth" Were they ever "kissed your lips"?
Bill Forde from Ontario CanadaIt was our wedding song in 1973 and still is today.
Troy from Woodbridge, VaThis song was a favorite of the “Wild Weasels” a group of pilots in Vietnam with mission to knock out N Vietnam air defenses. Almost a suicidal mission. Of first 8 planes equipped for that mission 7 were shot down. But the surviving pilots after each mission seemed to favor that song by Roberta Flack. A different sense of meaning when you are remembering those you may never see again!
AnonymousTotal class and act, full of heart and soul.
Michael Kesner from Oregoni remember this song when i lived on okinawa from 1970 to 1973, it was an extended version, maybe 10 minutes long, in a black and white video, showing a couples life from the beginning to the end of their life - it was so beautiful, played on TV everyday and it always brought tears - wish i could find that video somewhere so i can see it again
Jessica Eaton from MaineRe Robert from Johns Creek, Ga. Actually First Time (Ever I saw Your Face) was written about Peggy Seeger. Perhaps you're thinking of Killing Me Softly, another hit by Roberta Flack.
Robert from Johns Creek, GaIt was written about Don McClean.
Bestmate from BournemouthThis song captivated my very soul, with its sentimental, quiet and beautiful lyrics. I let the tears flow, as I drifted away to distant times of lost love.
Robert from Ottawa, OnHilda - Ct. --> That is the most romantic posting I've ever seen. Beautiful.
Hilda from Ct.Heard the song once, bought the album for my boyfriend who later became my husband. Together for 39 years. When I think of him now, 5 years after he passed away, this song still describes how I felt/feel about him, especially the first line.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn June 19th 1973, Roberta Flack performed "Jesse" on her own ABC-TV special 'Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever'...
A little under three months later on September 16th, 1973 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #83; five weeks later on October 21st, 1973 it would peak at #30 {for 1 week} and it stayed on the chart for 9 weeks...
It reached #3 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and #19 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart...
The song was surrounded by #1 records; her two previous releases, "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly with His Song", both peaked and #1; then "Jesse" was succeeded by "Feel Like Makin' Love", which also reached #1...
"Jesse" was composed by Janis Ian; and Ms. Ian would record it herself for her 1974 album 'Stars'.
Barry from BakuEwan McColl wrote this song after seeing his little daughter's face for the first time, just after she was born. He made it into a love song for his wife as well.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 27th 1972, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberto Flack entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #77; and six weeks later of April 9th, 1972 it peaked at #1 {for 6 weeks} and spent 18 weeks on the Top 100...
And March 26th, 1972 it also reached #1 and for also 6 weeks on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart {plus it peaked at #1 in Canada and Australia}...
It prevented "Rockin' Robin" by Michael Jackson and "I Gotcha" by Joe Tex from reaching #1, both peaked at #2 on the Top 100…
Was track six from her debut album, 'First Take', the album was released in 1969 and three years later on April 23rd, 1972 it peaked at #1 {for 5 weeks} on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart.
Sandra from Traralgon, AustraliaI was told years ago that Roberta wrote this song about her little black kitten...I saw a reference a few comments back about a cat that was killed on tour ...so possibly a true story then...either way..a lovely song :)
Kimberly from Landing, NjThe first time you feel the earth, u feel your soul move as eyes tell the truth, like a romantic novel. ty
Mark from Mchenry, IlRoberta Flack's recording of this song is one of the most beautiful things ever recorded.
Michael Scott from Punta Gorda, FlMost of the songs' lyrics don't match what is sung. The original recording sounds different, I have it on 8 track, the last verse is about the same as the first except the last 2 words are repeated twice.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyThis song was #1 for six weeks; then her next release, "Killing Me Softly With His Song", stayed at #1 for five weeks. It was followed by "Jesse" which only reached #30, but she roared back with "Feel Like Makin' Love", which peaked at #1 for one week!!!
Ricky from Ohsweken, -THE best setting for listening to this song.....in a room in COMPLETE darkness (& NO closing your eyes is NOT the same LOL). Anyone agree?
P from Chicago, IlIn the original recording, the last line is "I THOUGHT our joy would fill the earth...." With R. Flack's cover, the line is, "I KNEW our joy would fill the earth..."

That one word, for me, changes it from someone reminiscing about a past love to someone singing about a current relationship.

Both renditions are beautiful, but it's interesting how a much impact a little nuance in the lyrics can have.
Cynthia Haynes from Bridgeton, Njthis song can make anyone feel like they want to be in love with someone .this is the song me and my and my husband everynight before we go to bed it reminds us what love was all about in the in the seventies
Mike from Seattle, WaI saw her on Merv Griffin or a sim. show in the mid 70's. I had to refresh my understanding of the story again, but according to her, she cried during the recording of this song. She was thinking of a lost love- Sancho Panza. Sancho was no ordinary man, in fact he wasn't even human. He was her cat that had gotten killed when she was touring. She found out when she got home, just two days before going into the recording studio. Apparently, he crept crept back into her memory.
www.superseventies.com/1972_8singles.html
Ron from Atlanta, GaAlex of Melbourne, Australia wants to know how Roberta Flack got onto "The First Time Ever" 15 years after Ewan MacColl wrote it. I learned it from the Chad Mitchell Trio album "Reflecting" (1964?). In the fall of 1966, while working at the Host Farm, a resort hotel in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I gave the lyrics and guitar chords to Morgan Ames, who was performing at the piano bar. In the summer of 1974(?) My wife and I saw Roberta Flack perform at the Valley Forge Music Fair outside Philadelphia. She introduced the song by saying that she learned it from her "good friend Morgan Ames". Ron White, Atlanta, Georgia
Fred from Laurel, MdThe first time ever I heard this song (sorry, I couldn't resist that!) was by Peter, Paul, & Mary, on their album, 'See What Tomorrow Brings' (1965). It totally blew me away. That's still my favorite version, although I really like what Roberta did with it, too. But if you haven't heard the PPM version, get it -- you won't regret it. *** Don (Shreveport), actually, they don't. If RF did the song this way, it was her own artistic touch, not the original version.
John from Pick One, Netherlands@Esther, Liverpool:

Started collecting this song in 2002, I have 46 different recordings by 42 artists.
Grace from Astoria, Nyevery time i hear this song i think about my two nieces and my fiance.it always makes me bawl like a baby because it is such a beautiful song.grace,new york
Paul from Worthing, EnglandA lovely song, never fails to bring a lump to the throat.
Pete from Nowra, Australiawhat a great love song, remember seeing a tv testimonial for Clint Eastwood years ago , it was like a dinner type setting , Roberta got up and sang this song ....great stuff
Don from Shreveport, LaSomeone wrote: "The title is the first words of the lyrics, but that is the only place those words appear."

Actually, no. They also comprise the end of the song, repeated twice.
Alex from Melbourne, AustraliaAnyone know how Roberta Flack got on to this song 15 years after it was written by MacColl?
Esther from Liverpool, EnglandThis is one of my favourite songs :) it has been covered quite a lot, by George Micheal, The Stereophonics and Celine Dion.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

JeopardyGreg Kihn Band

"Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band got the Weird Al treatment with "I Lost On Jeopardy." Kihn and Jeopardy game show announcer Art Fleming both appear in the video.

Crocodile RockElton John

Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" borrows a bit from Don McLean's "American Pie." Both songs feature a Chevy, and are about young people who are heartbroken when their music "dies."

Islands In The StreamKenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.

Every Breath You TakeThe Police

Sting wrote "Every Breath You Take" at the same desk in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.

Open Your HeartMadonna

The kid in Madonna's "Open Your Heart" video became a successful songwriter. His songs include Amy Winehouse's "You Sent Me Flying" and James Blunt's "1973."

All Through The NightCyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper's hit "All Through The Night" was written and originally recorded by Jules Shear, who also wrote "If She Knew What She Wants" by the Bangles.