The symbol breakdown is a s-t-r-e-t-c-h by any ruler.

Or just listen to the song itself instead of reading it here? LOL!

IanRG said:

Germanegro said:

My say is that it is self-referential, and expressing his own wishes for life success--to be a victor!

Yes but also a reference to the sacrifices - or struggles - of being a Black person in Minneapolis/USA. For example Dr King being killed. A number of times he tells a preacher "don't say it".

I think it is his equivalent of "the Cross I bear" - A rejection of what an unnamed Preacher kept saying (could be that Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins so we don't have to? - possibly like prosperity theology where if you are good (ie donate enough), good things will happen?). Instead, Prince recalls the stuggles and sacrifices of his life and his people. How Bernadette (Andre Cymone's mother who looked after Prince after he left home) set him straight on what sacrifices he needed to make. How he has needed to, and will always need to sacrifice for all his life so that he will be Victor (victorious) at the end - Just like the call for Christians to take up the Cross and not just coast because some Preachers say just believe and you will be saved. That we need to be willing to do the work so we reach the joy that is round the corner.

Germanegro said:

Or just listen to the song itself instead of reading it here? LOL!

IanRG said:

Yes but also a reference to the sacrifices - or struggles - of being a Black person in Minneapolis/USA. For example Dr King being killed. A number of times he tells a preacher "don't say it".

I think it is his equivalent of "the Cross I bear" - A rejection of what an unnamed Preacher kept saying (could be that Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins so we don't have to? - possibly like prosperity theology where if you are good (ie donate enough), good things will happen?). Instead, Prince recalls the stuggles and sacrifices of his life and his people. How Bernadette (Andre Cymone's mother who looked after Prince after he left home) set him straight on what sacrifices he needed to make. How he has needed to, and will always need to sacrifice for all his life so that he will be Victor (victorious) at the end - Just like the call for Christians to take up the Cross and not just coast because some Preachers say just believe and you will be saved. That we need to be willing to do the work so we reach the joy that is round the corner.

But note that this shows it more than just about a name change or a symbol or about being free of WB.

SoulAlive said:

yeah,many fans thought the symbol itself spells out the name "Victor"

Nice of course,

but it refers to victory as we all know.

[Edited 6/22/23 7:26am]

Yes--as you've diagrammed, and as he says pretty clearly in his song, IMO. That's all I was getting at. He goes down the line of scenarios that you detail--offering a wee more detail toward everything that Prince is alluding to that he wouldn't have been able to fit into a song lyric. Thanks, IanRG!

IanRG said:

Germanegro said:

Or just listen to the song itself instead of reading it here? LOL!

But note that this shows it more than just about a name change or a symbol or about being free of WB.

Germanegro said:

Yes--as you've diagrammed, and as he says pretty clearly in his song, IMO. That's all I was getting at. He goes down the line of scenarios that you detail--offering a wee more detail toward everything that Prince is alluding to that he wouldn't have been able to fit into a song lyric. Thanks, IanRG!

IanRG said:

But note that this shows it more than just about a name change or a symbol or about being free of WB.

Sometimes Prince lyrics and titles are cryptic, sometimes they are plain and easy to understand. Where the song's themes are clearly said, the explanations need not diverge too much from the words.

I think it is interesting to look at this song as one in between the Intro to Let's Go Crazy and The Work Pt.1. The Sacrifice of Victor sits more comfortably with me with than The Work, because the former was when Prince was pursuing a personal approach to life's sacrifices and with God (eg questioning the "preacher" and accepting his personal responsibilities). The latter was more about adherence to JW theology and looking down on people outside of this religion.

Yeah, 'tis true. I had my own alt-view or perhaps parallell interpretation of The Rainbow Children's lyrics that were translating particularly to Prince's career experiences as a recording artist, one aside from the direct religious/dogmatic narrative that he lays out on that project. I thought that "The Sacrifice of Vitctor" was pretty straightforward, on the other hand. We take our own interpretations into these songs to get what we want or need out of them, which is all good.

IanRG said:

Sometimes Prince lyrics and titles are cryptic, sometimes they are plain and easy to understand. Where the song's themes are clearly said, the explanations need not diverge too much from the words.

I think it is interesting to look at this song as one in between the Intro to Let's Go Crazy and The Work Pt.1. The Sacrifice of Victor sits more comfortably with me with than The Work, because the former was when Prince was pursuing a personal approach to life's sacrifices and with God (eg questioning the "preacher" and accepting his personal responsibilities). The latter was more about adherence to JW theology and looking down on people outside of this religion.

My CD skipped like crazy and Sacrifice of Victor skipped so bad it was unlistenable. I didn't like the album anyway so I never re-bought it. SOV is the tune I know the least in his whole catalog for this reason...so you guys are probably right.

Poplife88 said:

My CD skipped like crazy and Sacrifice of Victor skipped so bad it was unlistenable. I didn't like the album anyway so I never re-bought it. SOV is the tune I know the least in his whole catalog for this reason...so you guys are probably right.

The album was so long it actually had trouble playing in some CD players. That may have been the issue with yours.

Did Warner's finance Purple Rain? For some reason I tought Cavallo & Prince did.

jtfolden said:

Poplife88 said:

My CD skipped like crazy and Sacrifice of Victor skipped so bad it was unlistenable. I didn't like the album anyway so I never re-bought it. SOV is the tune I know the least in his whole catalog for this reason...so you guys are probably right.

The album was so long it actually had trouble playing in some CD players. That may have been the issue with yours.

Are you still listening to cd's on your Sony Discman, Poplife88???

The name is literal.

"Victor" like if you use "victor" in a sentence. Prince is "Victor." Prince is the "victor."

nayroo2002 said:

jtfolden said:

The album was so long it actually had trouble playing in some CD players. That may have been the issue with yours.

Are you still listening to cd's on your Sony Discman, Poplife88???

Sure did back in 92 ...now I still listen to the occasional CD on my Sony 5CD changer which still works. I think I bught that around the same time!

jtfolden said:

Poplife88 said:

My CD skipped like crazy and Sacrifice of Victor skipped so bad it was unlistenable. I didn't like the album anyway so I never re-bought it. SOV is the tune I know the least in his whole catalog for this reason...so you guys are probably right.

The album was so long it actually had trouble playing in some CD players. That may have been the issue with yours.

I'd forgotten about that issue, where CD players sometimes struggled with longer discs. I know I had that problem with some CDs, but I don't remember it being an issue, for me, with the Love Symbol album.

jtfolden said: