Miller was born to Dr. George "Sonny" Miller, a pathologist, jazz enthusiast and amateur recording engineer, and Bertha, a jazz-influenced singer. In 1950, the family moved to Dallas, Texas. His first guitar chords were taught to him by the legendary Les Paul, pioneer of the electric guitar and also Miller's godfather. While at St. Mark's School of Texas, Miller formed his first band, The Marksmen. Miller taught classmate Royce Boz Scaggs some guitar chords so he could join the band; Scaggs became better known by his nickname, Boz. Miller attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the 1960s, where he formed The Ardells. Scaggs joined the Ardells the next year. Ben Sidran was added to the Ardells as a keyboardist the following year. Miller was only sixteen when he started college, and dropped out six credit hours shy of a literature degree. Les Paul encouraged young Miller to utilize his prodigal talents, and much of Miller's success has been attributed to Paul's tutelage during his childhood and teenage years.
Prior to forming the Steve Miller Band, Miller was in a band with Barry Goldberg called the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. They formed in 1965, and released one single, before Miller left the band.
In 1968, Miller formed the Steve Miller Band, with Miller handling vocals, and released an album, Children of the Future, the first in a series of discs rooted solidly in the psychedelic blues style that dominated the San Francisco music scene at the time. Scaggs would leave the band after a couple of albums. Sailor, Brave New World, Your Saving Grace and Number 5 followed. These albums performed respectably on the album charts but failed to yield a hit. This first period in Steve Miller's music formed part of double album compilation "Anthology" which includes a guest appearance on drums by the then Beatle Paul McCartney on the song "My Dark Hour".
1973's The Joker marked the start of the second phase of Miller's career: more pop-oriented and simplistic, the album featured a number one hit in the U.S. in the title track as well as several other popular tunes. In fact, "The Joker" hit Number One on the UK singles chart in September 1990 after it was used on a television commercial.
Miller followed up The Joker with Fly Like an Eagle in 1976 and Book of Dreams in 1977. This pair of albums represented the peak of Miller's commercial career, both reaching the top echelons of the album charts and spawning a seemingly-endless series of hit singles, including "Rock'n Me", "Take the Money and Run", "Jet Airliner" and "Jungle Love". While critics lambasted Miller for abandoning his more ambitious approach and socially-aware lyrics for simple pop-rock and derivative blues tunes, fans gravitated towards the catchy, melodic songs in great numbers, and the Steve Miller Band co-headlined a major stadium tour with the Eagles in 1977.
On the heels of this massive success, Miller took a long hiatus from recording and touring, emerging in 1981 with Circle of Love, an ambitious album possibly intended to appease critics of his new style. Sales were disappointing, however, and in 1982 he returned to the pop formula with another hit album, Abracadabra. This was Miller's last great commercial success; a series of collections, live albums and attempts to find a new style appeared sporadically, but after 1993 Miller gave up producing records altogether. However, he collaborated with Paul McCartney on the former Beatle's 1997 Grammy-nominated album, Flaming Pie.
Sacrifice
Steve Miller Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All those miles that we had roamed
Still can see your pretty hair
When I come back will you be there
You flew away like a kite
I hope you find your light
I pray they treat you right
What a sacrifice
Miles and miles I have roamed
Lookin' for that home sweet home
Thought I had the love with you
But I found out that you weren't true
You made me feel so nice
Ready for wedding rice
Then you said no dice
What a sacrifice
Lookin' back on time that's gone
I realized I might have been wrong
But Macon took you for a ride
They broke us up for their own pride
But you were young and didn't understand
That you had found your lifetime man
Maybe someday you'll see
It gets so lonely being free
So don't be wrong twice
What a sacrifice
The lyrics of "Sacrifice" by the Steve Miller Band convey a sense of heartbreak, confusion, and longing. The song seems to be about a man who has traveled far from home and left a lover behind. He still thinks about her regularly, and he wonders if she will still be waiting for him when he returns. He regretfully recalls how much he loved her and how much he wanted to marry her, only to discover that she was not faithful to him. He reflects on their past and the moments they shared together; at the same time, he wonders if he made a mistake by leaving her behind.
The lines "You made me feel so nice / Ready for wedding rice / Then you said no dice" highlight the singer's pain and heartbreak, and his sense of betrayal. The verse also suggests that the singer's true love was sincere, but it went unrewarded. The lines "But Macon took you for a ride / They broke us up for their own pride" can be interpreted as a reference to a third party that played a role in the singer losing his love. Ultimately, the song is about the risks and sacrifices that love demands, and how those sacrifices can sometimes leave us feeling alone and wishing things had turned out differently.
Line by Line Meaning
Thought about the folks back home
Reflecting on the people and places left behind
All those miles that we had roamed
Traveling aimlessly, searching for something that can't be found
Still can see your pretty hair
Memories of a past love that still lingers
When I come back will you be there
Uncertainty about whether returning home will result in reconciliation
You flew away like a kite
Leaving suddenly and without warning
I hope you find your light
Wishing the best for the departed lover's future
I pray they treat you right
Concern for the well-being of the former love interest
What a sacrifice
A bittersweet acknowledgement that sometimes love requires difficult choices
Miles and miles I have roamed
Endless searching for a place to belong
Lookin' for that home sweet home
Longing for stability and comfort in life
Thought I had the love with you
Believing in a love that later proved false
But I found out that you weren't true
Discovering that the former love interest was unfaithful
You made me feel so nice
Reminiscing about the happy moments experienced with the ex-partner
Ready for wedding rice
Longing for a future together, including marriage
Then you said no dice
Rejection and disappointment after believing in a future with the ex-partner
Lookin' back on time that's gone
Reflecting on the past and the choices made
I realized I might have been wrong
Acknowledgment of personal responsibility for past failures
But Macon took you for a ride
Feeling wronged by outside forces that interfered in the relationship
They broke us up for their own pride
Blaming the interference of others for the end of the relationship
But you were young and didn't understand
Recognizing that the former love interest may not have known how much they were valued
That you had found your lifetime man
Believing that the relationship could have lasted a lifetime
Maybe someday you'll see
Hoping for a future reconciliation despite past mistakes
It gets so lonely being free
Feeling the empty void left behind after a relationship ends
So don't be wrong twice
Advice meant to prevent future heartbreak
What a sacrifice
A final reflection on the pain and difficulty of letting go of love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GARY GEOFFREY MILLER, STEPHEN WILLIAM LEE, ETHAN MARSHALL EDWARDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Desdinova69
Thought about the folks back home
All those miles that we had roamed
Still can see your pretty hair
When I come back will you be there
You flew away like a kite
I hope you find your light
I pray they treat you right
What a sacrifice
Miles and miles I have roamed
Lookin' for that home sweet home
Thought I had the love with you
But I found out that you weren't true
You made me feel so nice
Ready for wedding rice
Then you said no dice
What a sacrifice
Lookin' back on time that's gone
I realized I might have been wrong
But Macon took you for a ride
They broke us up for their own pride
But you were young and didn't understand
That you had found your lifetime man
Maybe someday you'll see
It gets so lonely being free
So don't be wrong twice
What a sacrifice
@robertfrench4359
This is why we bought albums back in the day, To hear the hidden gems
@kasebmohamed5468
I love many of Steve Miller's songs, but this one stands alone beyond everything he ever played, it has a kind of Pink Floyd-feel, really really amazing!
@brendapaddlety2413
You're absolutely right Robert French 🤗 by the way my brothers name is Robert also,a great name 👍
@user-nr2sj5sd8l
This is dope
@douglasmcconnell8116
I do that with itunes , who cares about the so called popular spots..
@IIESPD00DII
@@kasebmohamed5468 Evil is another good cut in this same realm I feel. Joker album
@cwelchusmc
This song takes me places - hard to explain but if you agree, you get it
@thegreatestmotherfuckereve2775
cwelchusmc I very much get it.
@robertmiller1655
The whole album does that, to me.
@gabelabine4075
I understand