Behind the Mask may refer to:
Behind the Mask is the 15th studio album by British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released in 1990. It was the first album released by the band after the departure of guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. He was replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito, both guitar players, singers and songwriters. Fleetwood Mac thus became a six-piece band with four singer/songwriters. The album was not as successful as its predecessor, Tango in the Night, nor did it spawn any big hit singles although "Save Me" made the US Top 40, while "Love Is Dangerous" and "Skies the Limit" enjoyed some airplay. Though it barely reached the US Top 20, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1 and achieved platinum status there. Following the album's release and subsequent world tour, bandmembers Stevie Nicks and Rick Vito left the band, though Nicks would rejoin in 1997.
The cover for the album was created by photographer Dave Gorton. He stated that the band did not wish to appear on the front cover of the album and Mick Fleetwood himself suggested that he create an image that "spiritually symbolised" the band instead. The album cover earned a Grammy nomination in 1991 for "Best Album Package".
"Behind the Mask" is a synthpop song by electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, written by member Ryuichi Sakamoto and first produced in 1978 for a Seiko commercial. It was later released in 1979 as part of the band's Solid State Survivor album with English lyrics added by Chris Mosdell.
The song has been performed by many artists since its original release. In the early 1980s, Michael Jackson wrote additional lyrics for the song with an accompanying melody; this version has been recorded by himself, Greg Phillinganes, Eric Clapton, and Ryuichi Sakamoto (as a solo artist), among others.
"Behind the Mask" was a track from Yellow Magic Orchestra's 1979 album Solid State Survivor, with English lyrics by Chris Mosdell sung by Ryuichi Sakamoto using a vocoder. Sakamoto already had the melody line when he asked poet and lyricist Mosdell to write lyrics, which he based on the imagery of a Japanese traditional Noh mask, combined with a poem by Irish poet W.B. Yeats called, "The Mask."
You're cruel, device
Your blood, like ice
One look, could kill
My pain, your thrill
I wanna love you but I better not touch
I wanna hold you but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna kiss you but I want it too much
I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison running through my veins
You're poison
I don't wanna break these chains
Your mouth, so hot
Your web, I'm caught
Your skin, so wet
Black lace, on sweat
I hear you calling and its needles and pins
I wanna hurt you just to hear you screaming my name
Don't wanna touch you but you're under my skin
I wanna kiss you but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison running trough my veins
You're poison
I don't wanna break these chains
Running deep inside my veins
Poison burning deep inside my veins
One look, could kill
My pain, your thrill
I wanna love you but I better not touch
I wanna hold you but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna kiss you but I want it too much
I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison running trough my veins
You're poison
I don't wanna break these chains
Poison
I wanna love you but I better not touch
I wanna hold you but my senses tell me to stop
I wanna kiss you but I want it too much
I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison running trough my veins
You're poison
I don't wanna break these chains