Luke Evans’ First Time

This evening for “music night” at The Wild Reed I share singer and actor Luke Evans’ rendition of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” Ewan MacColl’s beautiful 1957 ballad that was immortalized by Roberta Flack in 1972. Flack’s recording of the song became an international hit, winning Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Many artists, both before and after Flack’s version, have covered “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” including The Kingston Trio, Gordon Lightfoot, Elvis Presley, Shirley Bassey (a personal favorite), Nana Mouskouri, George Michael, and Josh Groban.

For reasons I won’t get into now, I’m wanting to hear “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” from a male vocalist. After a YouTube search, it’s Luke Evans’s version of this beautiful song that I consider the best from the male singers I’ve heard. I hope you enjoy it too.

The first time ever I saw your face
I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and the stars
Were the gifts you gave
To the dark, and the endless sky

And the first time ever I kissed your mouth
I felt the earth move in my hands
Like the trembling heart
Of a captive bird
That was there, at my command
My love

And the first time ever I lay with you
I felt your heart so close to mine
And I knew our joy
Would fill the earth
And last, ’til the end of time
My love

The first time ever I saw
Your face

Related Off-site Links:
First Time Hearing Luke Evans’s "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Zooty Reactions (February 4, 2023).
Luke Evans Steps Into Fishnets for The Rocky Horror Show on Broadway – Beth Stevens (Broadway News, October 29, 2025).
Luke Evans Starring in ITV Thriller The Party Adapted From Novel by How To Fail Podcast’s Elizabeth Day – Max Goldbart (Deadline, November 6, 2025).

Other featured musicians at The Wild Reed:
Dusty Springfield | David Bowie | Kate Bush | Maxwell | Buffy Sainte-Marie | Prince | Frank Ocean | Maria Callas | Loreena McKennitt | Rosanne Cash | Petula Clark | Wendy Matthews | Darren Hayes | Jenny Morris | Gil Scott-Heron | Shirley Bassey | Rufus Wainwright | Kiki Dee | Suede | Marianne Faithfull | Dionne Warwick | Seal | Sam Sparro | Wanda Jackson | Engelbert Humperdinck | Pink Floyd | Carl Anderson | The Church | Enrique Iglesias | Yvonne Elliman | Lenny Kravitz | Helen Reddy | Stephen Gately | Judith Durham | Nat King Cole | Emmylou Harris | Bobbie Gentry | Russell Elliot | BØRNS | Hozier | Enigma | Moby (featuring the Banks Brothers) | Cat Stevens | Chrissy Amphlett | Jon Stevens | Nada Surf | Tom Goss (featuring Matt Alber) | Autoheart | Scissor Sisters | Mavis Staples | Claude Chalhoub | Cass Elliot | Duffy | The Cruel Sea | Wall of Voodoo | Loretta Lynn and Jack White | Foo Fighters | 1927 | Kate Ceberano | Tee Set | Joan Baez | Wet, Wet, Wet | Stephen “Tin Tin” Duffy | Fleetwood Mac | Jane Clifton | Australian Crawl | Pet Shop Boys | Marty Rhone | Josef Salvat | Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri | Aquilo | The Breeders | Tony Enos | Tupac Shakur | Nakhane Touré | Al Green | Donald Glover/Childish Gambino | Josh Garrels | Stromae | Damiyr Shuford | Vaudou Game | Yotha Yindi and The Treaty Project | Lil Nas X | Daby Touré | Sheku Kanneh-Mason | Susan Boyle | D’Angelo | Little Richard | Black Pumas | Mbemba Diebaté | Judie Tzuke | Seckou Keita | Rahsaan Patterson | Black | Ash Dargan | ABBA | The KLF and Tammy Wynette | Luke James and Samoht | Julee Cruise | Olivia Newton-John | Dyllón Burnside | Christine McVie | Rita Coolidge | Bettye LaVette | Burt Bacharach | Kimi Djabaté | Benjamin Booker | Tina Turner | Julie Covington | Midist/Wasim | Durrand Bernarr | Cold Play | Keiynan Lonsdale | Sharon Jones | Sylvester | Warumpi Band | Bad Bunny | Fantastic Negrito | Gordon Lightfoot | Diana Trask