The Band
Lyric guide

Sacrifice

Read Sacrifice lyrics by The Band on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

The Band visibility2 visits Video on page
person Curated by Ethan Walker LyroVerse team
Reference snapshot

The page facts to cite before the commentary

Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.

Page type: lyric reference Artist: The Band Canonical path: /band-the/sacrifice Related lyric paths: 6 Video embedded: yes
Lyrics

Sacrifice

The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.

You know we have a million stories to tell

I'm just one of a million or more stories that could be told

Chorus:

Sacrifice your freedom

Sacrifice your prayer

Take away your language

Cut off all your hair

Sacrifice the loved ones

Who always stood by me

Stranded in the wasteland

Set my spirit free

My name is leonard peltier

I am a lakota and anishnabe

And i am living in the united states penitentiary

Which is the swiftest growing

Indian reservations in the country

I have been in prison since 1976

For an incident that took place on the oglala-lakota nation

There was a shoot-out between members of the american indian movement

And the fbi and the local sheriffs state troopers

Two agents were killed and one indian was murdered

Three of us were charged with the deaths of the fbi agents

My co-defendants were found not-guilty by reasons of self-defense

My case was separated and i was found guilty before a jury of non-indian

People

The prosecutor stated that they did not know who killed their agents

Nor did he know what participation leonard peltier may have played in it

But someone has to pay for the crime

There's a lot of nights that i lay in my cell

And i can't understand why this hell this hell and this terror

That i have been going through for twenty-one years hasn't ended

Chorus

But yet i know in my heart that someone has to pay sacrifice

To make things better for our people

The sacrifice i have made when i really sit down to think about it

Is nothing compared to what our people a couple hundred years ago

Or fifty years ago or twenty-five years ago have made

Some gave their lives

Some had to stand there and watch their children die in their arms

So the sacrifice i have made is nothing compared to those

I've gone too far now to start backing down

I don't give up

Not 'til my people are free will i give up

And if i have to sacrifice some more

Then i sacrifice some more

Quick answers

What this page can answer fast

Who performs "Sacrifice"?

The Band performs "Sacrifice", and this lyric page sits inside the The Band catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "Sacrifice"?

Yes. The related section below points to Four Strong Winds and Beautiful Thing with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by The Band?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through The Band's lyric pages.

Song Room

Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song

Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.

Open Song Room
0 followers Selected insights only surface after moderation
Listener comments

What people are saying

0 comments
Add a short interpretation or memory

A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.

Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.

No listener comments on Sacrifice yet.