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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