"Faces" is a unreleased song from the HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I album.
The song was written and co-produced with Brad Buxer and recorded on September 14, 1994. Michael never recorded any vocals for it, only the spoken intro. Originally the intro was going to be spoken by Nelson Mandela, but his advisors told him not to due to the allegations surrounding MJ at the time.
The song first leaked in 2020 as a low quality recording from Brad Sundberg's seminars. On January 27, 2023, the same version was leaked in HQ after Brad's laptop was stolen.
These are the worst of times
And these are the best of times
Racism, bigotry, ethnocentrism, prejudice, hatred and violence are breaking the heart of our planet and strangling it’s soul
And yet, we are coming alive
As never before
Nelson Mandela: a black man
A former symbol of subjugation and slavery, guides South Africa
Democracy and freedom flourish as never before
And a new consciousness proclaims the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, Where survival of the fittest is replaced by survival of the wisest
Let us dream of the great and sudden splendor of a new tomorrow
Let us dream of the full flowering of a new collective consciousness
Let us dream of a tomorrow where we can hold our heads high and stretch our arms toward perfection
Let us dream of a tomorrow where we no longer fragment and fracture our global village with narrow domestic walls,
Where tribalism no longer services under the pretense of nationalism and patriotic fervor and where we can truly love from the soul and know love as the ultimate truth at the heart of all creation
Let us dream of tomorrow where our children are nurtured and protected and nourished and our elders revered and honoured and venerated
Let us dream of peace and harmony and laughter
Let us dream of joy and ecstasy
Let us dream of dancing the cosmic dance
And, as we dream, let us remember those who dared to dream before us and sacrifice their yesterday, so we could have our tomorrow