I have no idea how I encountered this song – My Sacrifice, nor any knowledge of the band – Creed. I was tossing up whether to include it in the project. Basically, I needed three targets ‘green’. I had two green, one red. Then I read the lyrics again and decided – ‘Execute‘. My Sacrifice reminds me of some of the raw – Alternative Seattle songs I heard in my young adulthood, and I really like the spirited and gritty sound of vocalist Scott Stapp. Not unlike Eddie Vedder’s formidable voice on Alive.
(Edited: I have heard this song more since I wrote this draft article. I wanted to highlight another alluring aspect of the song which is the shredding guitar work and how it raises the key ala ‘Live and Let Die‘ or something you might here from Metallica. It’s very cool and I like the song the more I hear it).
Creed was prominent in the post-grunge movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s. They hail from from Tallahassee, Florida formed in 1994. Creed has sold over 28 million records in the United States, and has sold over 53 million albums worldwide, and was the ninth best-selling artist of the 2000s. The songs of their’s have arguably Christian origins. Scott Stapp’s has a spiritual background as the stepson of a Pentecostal minister.
Hello my friend, we meet again
It’s been awhile, where should we begin?
Feels like forever
Within my heart are memories
Of perfect love that you gave to me
Oh, I remember
When you are with me, I’m free
I’m careless, I believe
Above all the others we’ll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My sacrifice
We’ve seen our share of ups and downs
Oh how quickly life can turn around
In an instant
It feels so good to reunite
Within yourself and within your mind
Let’s find peace there
When Jay Stanley of ‘J. Stanley Productions Inc’ recalls his initial impression of hearing My Sacrifice while working with the band stating that he knew the song was going to be huge the first time he heard it.
Stapp also explains:
That the song is about coming out of a dark place or period in your life and reconnecting with yourself. He notes several of the songs lyrical themes are represented through elements in the music video. These include a shot of himself in a rowboat where he is seen pulling a drowning version of himself out of the water onto the boat, which represents periods of his life where he would claim sobriety, coming out from the darkness and finding temporary clarity, only to fall back into his old habits. He also mentions that the shots of other people in the video are representative of the feelings you have when you are with someone you love.
On July 19, 2023, the band announced that they had reunited and would be headlining the Summer of ’99 cruise in April 2024.
Reference:
1. My Sacrifice – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Leave a comment