| "Prayer of the Refugee" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Rise Against | ||||
| from the album The Sufferer & the Witness | ||||
| Released | December 6, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | January–April 2006; The Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:19 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Rise Against | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Rise Against singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Prayer of the Refugee" on YouTube | ||||
"Prayer of the Refugee" is a song by American punk rock band Rise Against, featured on their fourth studio album The Sufferer & the Witness (2006). The lyrics were written by lead vocalist Tim McIlrath, and deal with the themes of forced displacement and the societal issues surrounding refugees. The song uses a contrasting verse-chorus form, with slow and melancholic verses against fast-paced and chaotic choruses. It was released as The Sufferer & the Witness's second single on December 6, 2006.
Commercially, "Prayer of the Refugee" reached number seven on the Alternative Songs chart, and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Critics praised the contrasting verse-chorus format, as well as the simple yet effective lyrics. In the accompanying music video, the band performs in a retail store, with intermittent shots of foreign workers making the store products. The band wanted the video to showcase how conventional business models allow for various human rights violations.