♫ Sacrifice ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I last played this in 1920 and several readers said it was among their favourite Elton John songs, so since I’m tired and feeling a bit under the weather tonight, I thought it was a good time to redux it!

As is the case with most of Elton’s songs, the lyrics are by Bernie Taupin and the music by Elton.  It was inspired both by the Aretha Franklin song Do Right Woman, Do Right Man and described as a Percy Sledge song by Elton John.

This was released as a single in 1989, but stalled at #55 in the UK. Six months later it was revived in the UK by DJ Steve Wright, who began replaying it on his BBC Radio One afternoon show. He reported the great listener reaction to Rocket Records, which reissued it as a double A-side along with his previous release “Healing Hands,” which had also flopped in the UK. By mid-summer 1990, the single went to #1 in the UK, but only reached #18 in the U.S.

Actually, now that I think about it, it’s rather a sad song and I was hoping for one to give me good cheer.  Oh well.

Sacrifice
Elton John

It’s a human sign
When things go wrong
When the scent of her lingers
And temptation’s strong

Into the boundary
Of each married man
Sweet deceit comes calling
And negativity lands

Cold, cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better, baby
Just passing through

And it’s no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It’s two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it’s no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It’s no sacrifice at all

Mutual misunderstanding
After the fact
Sensitivity builds a prison
In the final act

We lose direction
No stone unturned
No tears to damn you
When jealousy burns

Cold, cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better, baby
Just passing through

And it’s no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It’s two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it’s no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It’s no sacrifice at all

Cold, cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better, baby
Just passing through

And it’s no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It’s two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it’s no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It’s no sacrifice at all

No sacrifice at all
No sacrifice at all
No sacrifice at all
No sacrifice at all

Songwriters: Bernie Taupin / Elton John
Sacrifice lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

31 thoughts on “♫ Sacrifice ♫”

  5. Pingback: SACRIFICE. |jilldennison.com | Ramblings of an Occupy Liberal

    • 🤣🤣 Yep, quite a feat, since he wasn’t born until 1947 and I wasn’t born until 1951! Perhaps I should try to do these posts a bit earlier, for it seems my editing eyes are already blurred by 3:00 a.m.! I really meant 2019! Hugs and cheers, dear friend!

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    • Ha ha ha … OOOPS! This is what happens when I leave these things ’til 3:00 a.m., eh? I really meant 2019 … three years ago. But hey … who knows … maybe in my last life I did play it in 1920 … oh wait … Elton wasn’t born until 1947, just four years before me … there goes that theory. Hope you at least got a good chuckle from my faux pas and I’m glad you enjoyed the song!

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            • Yeah, a case of my mind working faster than my fingers … or vice versa. There are other things, though, that make me wonder. Today, I could not remember the name of one of our favourite restaurants that we’ve been going to for probably 20 years. Still can’t remember where it is located. Just little things, but it makes me wonder …

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                • I do that multiple times a day, too! Worse yet, sometimes I go upstairs … all 15 stairs … for something, only to forget what I went up for … until I get back down to the bottom, and then I remember! That’s when I turn to my granddaughter and say, “Goose … would you mind running upstairs to get my __________?” I’m lucky she’s young, spry, and loves me! 😂

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                  • I live in a ground floor flat, so at least I don’t have to contend with stairs. I like the way you are reverse engineering the old ‘wear the old ones out first’ message 😊

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                    • Lucky you! We’ve talked about moving, finding a single level house to rent, but then we think about the chore of packing up all these years worth of ‘stuff’ we’ve accumulated and it’s defeating. We’ve been here since 1998, so you can imagine how much junk is tucked into every nook and cranny. I’m lucky … she’s always willing to do whatever I need done. I do push myself to try to do as much as possible, but sometimes multiple trips up the stairs just isn’t a good idea.

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                    • I am, Clive. I am so lucky to have both my daughter and granddaughter living with me. Never a complaint, and for the last 3-4 months of last year, I had to rely on them to even bring me a cracker from the kitchen, but they never once rolled an eye or complained. And Goose is a gem … I would not have survived without them.

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