There are always some English sayings that sound fun. "I have to face the music." is a useful and funny saying in English. When someone says it, it does not mean that he is planning to go to a concertor hear a singer. It is something far less happy, for example, when you are called in by your boss to explain why you made such a stupid mistake.
From time to time, everyone has to "face the music". As young children, we all remember father's angry words "I want to talk to you." "You should be punished!" and that is only because we did not listen to him. What a terrible thing! We students have to "face the music" in the middle or at the end of every term. The result of the exam will decide whether we will "face the music" or not.
The expression is well known to each American, young or old. It is at least 100 years old. Where did it come from? An American writer named James said in 1851 that actors while waiting to go on stage (舞台) first used the expression. After they got their order to go on, they often said, "Time to go to face the music." That is exactly what they did, as the playing group was just below the stage. An actor might be worried as he moved on to the stage. The audience would be unfriendly if he forgot his lines. However, he had to go out.
Now you can understand, "face the music" comes to mean that you have to face something no matter how unpleasant it might be.
