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The Fray - How to Save a Life



Isaac Slade explained that he wrote this song about an experience he had working at a camp for troubled youths:


"One of the kids I was paired up with was a musician. Here I was, a protected suburbanite, and he was just 17 and had all these problems. And no one could write a manual on how to save him. I got a lot of email about it. One kid died in a car accident, and I guess it had been the last song he downloaded from his computer. They played it at his funeral, and some of his friends got 'Save A Life' tattooed on their arms. The response has been overwhelming."


"I still get an incredible number of emails about that song. We've got friends who think it's great not having to think because they're drunk or high. But there's a better way to be happy."


The Fray is comprised of devout Christians, and this song certainly has some religious subtext, with specific references to God:


And I pray to God he hears you


The Christian music community embraced the song, sending it to #4 on the Christian Songs chart, but it wasn't marketed as a religious song and was also a hit in the secular community - it made #3 on the Hot 100 and was also a #1 Adult Contemporary hit.



Lyrics


Step one, you say we need to talk


He walks, you say, "Sit down, it's just a talk"


He smiles politely back at you


You stare politely right on through


Some sort of window to your right


As he goes left and you stay right


Between the lines of fear and blame


You begin to wonder why you came



Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend


Somewhere along in the bitterness


And I would have stayed up with you all night


Had I known how to save a life



Let him know that you know best


'Cause after all, you do know best


Try to slip past his defense


Without granting innocence


Lay down a list of what is wrong


The things you've told him all along


And pray to God He hears you


And I pray to God He hears you, and



Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend


Somewhere along in the bitterness


And I would have stayed up with you all night


Had I known how to save a life



As he begins to raise his voice


You lower yours and grant him one last choice


Drive until you lose the road


Or break with the ones you've followed


He will do one of two things


He will admit to everything


Or he'll say he's just not the same


And you'll begin to wonder why you came



Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend


Somewhere along in the bitterness


And I would have stayed up with you all night


Had I known how to save a life


Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend


Somewhere along in the bitterness


And I would have stayed up with you all night


Had I known how to save a life



How to save a life


How to save a life



Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend


Somewhere along in the bitterness


And I would have stayed up with you all night


Had I known how to save a life


Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend


Somewhere along in the bitterness


And I would have stayed up with you all night


Had I known how to save a life



How to save a life


How to save a life

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