What do you think How to Save a Life means?

The Fray: How to Save a Life Meaning

Album cover for How to Save a Life album cover

Song Released: 2006


How to Save a Life 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...

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  1. prpltay
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     Jun 30th 2007 !⃝

    I think it means what most people are talking about. A friend talking to another about drugs or suicide but it could also mean about being mad or being in denial when someone close to you dies. Its like your wonder how you could of saved that close person from death whether drugs, suicide, disease or other problems.

  2. anonymous
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     Jun 26th 2007 !⃝

    For me, this song is about suicide. Someone knows their friend is in danger of killing themselves and tries to help. Their friend is so hopeless that they tell them its too late and they can't change. The person singing hopes and prays to God that his friend hears what he has to say because then he could've "saved a life" but then the person realizes that the conversation is going no where and "wonders why they came" so they leave. Their friend then takes the opportunity to...commit suicide. Hence "And I would have stayed up with you all night" meaning that when his friend left he killed himself.

    To me that's what this song means, and it always gives me chills.

  3. anonymous
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     Jun 25th 2007 !⃝

    I see that the person who is singing had a friend that committed suicide. His friend tried to confide in him, but his friend didn't see it as serious kept giving him ultimatums. Then when his friend committed suicide, the singer was trying to tell his friend how sorry he was that he wasn't there and hadn't listened.

  4. anonymous
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     Jun 22nd 2007 !⃝

    I have read all the other interpretations about this song being about some adult efforts to help a drug addicted kid. When I first heard the song, it brought to mind all the struggles and fights that precede a failing relationship. The words 'how to save life' for me cut across as saving a relationship. The protagonist is looking back at the events; i.e the fights, bitterness, that resulted in the loss of his friend(read girl friend) The protagonist looks regretfully back and wishes that he had known more about how to avert the 'bitterness' that precipitated the relationship ending badly.

  5. x_lily_x
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     Jun 15th 2007 !⃝

    I don't know much about The Fray, but I love this song and think that it could conceal a thousand different meanings; but one stands out clearer than the rest for me.

    The video for this song gives a great insight to the meaning of the song: kids, teenagers and young men letting out things that have been getting them down?

    The title is also relevant: "How To Save A Life"? Says it all for me.

    Basically I think the song is about listening to someone and this in turn leads to them valuing their life once again - in more simple terms, preventing someone from taking their own life by simply listening to them.

    Perhaps the writer of this song felt the need to express this - maybe he is talking from experience; someone listening to his problems and making him feel wanted.

    That's all I can say for now.
    Thanks.
    Lily (",)

  6. anonymous
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     Jun 14th 2007 !⃝

    Ohh! I get it now! Before I thought it was about a docotr and the family of a patient who had died. The doctor was telling the patient's family what had happened and felt very badly about it and the patient's family was very angry. The doctor was praying that the family would understand. But the druggy thing makes more sense.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  7. anonymous
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     Jun 2nd 2007 !⃝

    I don't know what the right interpretation is, but:

    The song never really spoke to me, until a few days ago I started staying up night after night trying to save someone's life.

    I did, for now, and I'm so glad I don't have to sing this song in the past tense.

  8. anonymous
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     May 29th 2007 !⃝

    It about losing a friend to suicide and wishing he had done something to help the friend.

  9. midnitegreen
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     May 15th 2007 !⃝

    Like most people who commit suicide are lonely, you know, like no one supports them or helps them thought things. So, I think this song is saying like he should've been there more for his friend, instead just minding his own things. That's what I'm guessing. :)

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  10. anonymous
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     May 15th 2007 !⃝

    It's about a relationship that ended. One of the parties wants to try and get back together and the other sounds not too cooperative about it. People change and its not the same like it was before. The love is basically gone and they don't even know each other anymore. They can't even be friend because of the whole thing.

  11. anonymous
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     May 12th 2007 !⃝

    this song is not about any tragedy in particular. It's about losing a loved one and feeling guilty about it. I'm sure the singer did feel guilty about one particular moment, but he was broadening the horizon to make this song reach out to everybody.

  12. anonymous
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     May 12th 2007 !⃝

    I Believe that this is a story of a young couple who were madly in love with each other, but because of social circumstances (Family pressures, Stresses of life) it caused them to see the small things wrong in each-other. The girl breaks up with the guy (most of the song is the mental process that she goes through in her head when she is just thinking of how she is going to break up with him). The guy commits suicide as a result of utter heart-break. The girl finally realizes how insignificant all of the things that she found wrong really were and is in utter despair.

    This song is set after she has found out that he is dead. She is thinking about it over and over in remorse. All in all it is a beautiful, emotive song because it makes you explore how much people really mean to you in your life, and how much they're worth staying up all night for.

    -Peace to all the weak and weary.
    -Tim

  13. anonymous
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     May 6th 2007 !⃝

    The song is about how Isaac was in a group that helps people with addictions...in particular he was helping this young boy who had a drug addiction, he tried to get past it but eventually his family said to him that if he didn't get over his addiction they wouldn't be there to support him anymore. The boy committed suicide...

    i think in the song Isaac is almost thinking that he could have stopped this from happening.

    Parsleycat x

  14. anonymous
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     Apr 30th 2007 !⃝

    I'm therapist for people who are dependent on drugs and I can totally relate. For every one you can help there are about seven who don't show up/show up and don't take advice on board. I've had people I thought I was making progress with overdose and for me this song is really heart breaking. Every line of it point's to what me and patients have been through both together and separately.

    Beautiful...

  15. anonymous
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     Apr 28th 2007 !⃝

    Wow, so many people said it was about someone named Issac? Seems to make much more sense than what I thought ;P When I first heard the song I thought it was about someone who was depressed and stuff, and their parents/friends were helping him get through it, but he ended up dying anyway ;'[ lots of people said it was about a relationship too? pfft, that makes no sense..not everything is about gfs/bfs people ;P Add me if you agree with my interpretation!megha73@hotmail.com xD

    P.S, The Fray is awesomeness <33

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