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. anonymous
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     Apr 17th 2011 !⃝

    I think the song is about someones friend who got involved with his girl friend, and he's singing about how he can't get that friendship back and a life means a friend. Like: "Where did i go wrong i lost a friend some where in the bitterness" and "between the lines of fear and blame you began to wonder why you came"

  2. anonymous
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     Apr 1st 2011 !⃝

    my friend told me this song is about a little boy. He wanted to get one of the guys from the fray autograph, but he was saying he was tired and annoyed or something so he didn't get the boy an autograph. The boy got depressed and mad and he killed him self. So the fray are writing about how to save a life. The boy wouldn't have killed himself if he got to talk to the fray. It's sad and weird.

  3. anonymous
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     Mar 3rd 2011 !⃝

    This is a song of a first person, convincing his friend to stop doing to kill oneself by doing drugs or to commit suicide. I'll break it down for everyone by quoting some of the lyrics. It starts with "Step one, you say we need to talk" The singer asks someone to talk with him. "|Smiles| politely back at you, you |stare| politely." It's a serious talk. "As he goes left and you stayed right, and you begin to wonder why you came" the talk was over, it is in the first stanza and last. "Let him know that you know best." "Lay down the things that's what is wrong." "And pray to God he hears you." This is the part where he tries to make him stop convincingly, and hopes that he listen. And the third stanza was beautiful, this was when the friend didn't want to, and the person gave him two choices, is to keep doing it and get lost in his life, or stop with the people that he followed doing drugs with. "Grant him one last choice
    Drive until you lose the road
    Or break with the ones you've followed."
    And in the end, he didn't stop doing drugs. He lost his friend either by unfriending him by his friend, or his friend committed suicide. Just read it all over again, it's easy to understand. Sorry, not very good at english, not my first language.

  4. anonymous
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     Jan 30th 2011 !⃝

    Your not able to tell whether or not it is about drugs or about a relationship. Of course, the people in the song know each other and are friends of some sort but, you can't tell what the problem really is. From my interpretation it has to be about something that is dying.(Obviously) Whether it be friendship, the person himself, or anything. And "You" just don't know what to do or say to help fix it. So you begin to wonder why you even decided to have the talk. And I think that when it says "As he begins to raise his voice", "You" said something wrong and offended him. So you dont know what to do but give him one last choice to put the guy on the right path.

  5. anonymous
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     Jan 30th 2011 !⃝

    Your not able to tell whether or not it is about drugs or about a relationship. Of course, the people in the song know each other and are friends of some sort but, you can't tell what the problem really is. From my interpretation it has to be about something that is dying.(Obviously) Whether it be friendship, the person himself, or anything. And "You" just don't know what to do or say to help fix it. So you begin to wonder why you even decided to have the talk. And I think that when it says "As he begins to raise his voice", "You" said something wrong and offended him. So you dont know what to do but give him one last choice to put the guy on the right path.

  6. anonymous
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     Jan 2nd 2011 !⃝

    Step one, helping the person admit that he has a problem....but one can't force another to admit that there is a problem ergo "it's just a talk." He smiles politely back at you....he's trying to placate you. But you stare politely right on through...you, being a recovering addict, know how people in that predicament can manipulate others.But you're not falling for it. Some sort of window to your right...there is an escape from the addiction but he goes left as you stay right...he is trying to avoid the confrontation. Between the lines of fear and blame...he's getting scared and as all addicts, he tries to put the blame on anyone else but himself. You get frustrated and wonder why you even bothered. You leave in frustration and looking back wonder what else you could have done to help. You do know best because you have been there...in the same situation with the same thoughts and fears. He knows how dire his situation is. He'll make excuses and try to make you feel sorry for him. You can't go there. You try and let him know what will happen if he continues on the same path...and can only "pray to God he hears you." Hindsight is 20/20...had you have known what to do or say, you might have been able to help in some way. He's getting angry and you try to stay calm. You give him an ultimatum....change his ways or stay stuck in the crap he's in. He starts making excuses. You become more frustrated and "wonder why you came." Now you regret not doing more for him to help him.

  7. anonymous
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     Nov 17th 2010 !⃝

    The song was written for a boy in a group home in Denver called Shelterwood. The boy was addicted to drugs and wanted to kill himself and all the "bigs" (people working at Shelterwood) tried convincing him not too saying that he would be able to leave Shelterwood soon. The Fray came to Shelterwood and they talked to this boy as well. The boy ended up killing himself anyhow.

    I know this because my best friend's sister went to Shelterwood and was in the same group with him.

  8. anonymous
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     Sep 26th 2010 !⃝

    I thought it meant that they had actually learned how to save someones life when..i dont know they needed cpr. but they werent paying attention in class and didnt know what to do, therefore their friend died.

  9. JJCrazy
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     Sep 16th 2010 !⃝

    There are many things that people fear and there are many things get blamed for. This song represents how people who try to confront the people who are feared and blamed and the struggle those individuals go through just to get the courage to talk to those people.

  10. anonymous
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     Sep 12th 2010 !⃝

    My interpretation is how Slade helped a recovering addict but this song means even more to me than that. To me this song means moving on from the death of loved ones and learning to live through it. The music video for this song makes me cry every time I see it.

  11. cowmogul
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     Aug 10th 2010 !⃝

    I think it's about his friend being on drugs and having an argument with someone who won't listen and about the relationship between the two.

  12. nicci87
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     Jul 20th 2010 !⃝

    Confronting someone about addiction. I've had that conversation felt that way! fits perfectly!

  13. anonymous
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     Jul 10th 2010 !⃝

    Wow, I always thought it was about one of the lead singers friends' boyfriend cheating on her and she tried to break up with him but he broke up with her before she could and now the lead singer feels bad because he thinks he could have done something to protect her from getting hurt because he knew that the bf was her world. Hence, how to save a life. Now I read all these and it's like boy was I way off.

  14. anonymous
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     Jul 10th 2010 !⃝

    Wow, I always thought it was about one of the lead singers friends' boyfriend cheating on her and she tried to break up with him but he broke up with her before she could and now the lead singer feels bad because he thinks he could have done something to protect her from getting hurt because he knew that the bf was her world. Hence, how to save a life. Now I read all these and it's like boy was I way off.

  15. anonymous
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     Jul 7th 2010 !⃝

    I think its about a long dead person, and a certain person feels he could have done something to prevent the accident. I may be wrong, but this is MY interpretation.

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