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When some one says, "Well, I guess I'll have to go face the music," it does not mean he is planning to go to a concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you did not do this or that. Sour music, indeed, but it has to be faced. At some time or another, every one of us has had to "face the music," especially as children. We can all remember father's angry voice: "I want to talk to you!" And only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was! The phrase "to face the music" is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. Where did the expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist James Fenimore Cooper. He said in 1851 that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on stage. After they got their cue to go on, they often said, "It's time to go face the music." And that is exactly what they did－face the orchestra which was just below the stage. An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved onto the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly, or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So, "to face the music" came to mean: having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you know you had no choice. Other explanations come from the army. Men had to face inspection by their leader. The soldiers worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean－shiny enough to pass inspection? Still, the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection. What else could they do? Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As, for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something unacceptable, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave facing the music, such as it is, and facing the back of his horse.
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