How to save the life the fray lyrics
How to save the life the fray lyrics
«How To Save A Life» lyrics
The Fray Lyrics
«How To Save A Life»
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
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
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
Текст песни How to save a life
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 And 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
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 (where did I go wrong), I lost a friend Somewhere along in the bitterness And I would have stayed up (I would of stayed up) with you all night Had I known how to save a life
Перевод песни Как спасти жизнь?
Где же я ошиблась, Я потеряла друга
Снова в горечи ты одна
Ты хочешь быть с ним всю ночь
И никто не может тебе с твоей жизнью помочь
Он знает тебя лучше всех
Мотив и всё, ты знаешь его
Борись за него
Ведь ты невиновна
И все равно что то не то
Скажи ему всё
Моли бога о нём ведь он твой
Где же я ошиблась, Я потеряла друга
Снова в горечи ты одна
Ты хочешь быть с ним всю ночь
И никто не может тебе с твоей жизнью помочь
Если он начнёт голос повышать
Дай ему шанс (но не давай себя унижать)
Отрывайся пока не собьешься с пути
Сделай паузу не уходи
Он сделает что то из двух
Или он согласиться на всё
Или скажет прости но мне нужно идти
И ты будешь думать зачем ты пришла.
Где же я ошиблась, Я потеряла друга
Снова в горечи ты одна
Ты хочешь быть с ним всю ночь
И никто не может тебе с твоей жизнью помочь
How To Save A Life
The Fray
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
Lyrics submitted by fray
How To Save A Life Lyrics as written by Joseph King Isaac Slade
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
612 Comments
My InterpretationI’ve always thought this song was about someone who blames themselves for their loved one’s suicide.
«Step one, you say, «We need to talk»/He walks, you say, «Sit down, it’s just a talk»»
Have you ever tried talking to someone about their health when they’re obviously mentally ill? They don’t want to talk about it. They just want to curl up in themselves, and whenever you confront them about their well-being, they try to walk away.
«Let him know that you know best/’cuz after all, you do know best»
They try to convince their loved one to get help, get better, etc. To me, this line always sounded a little sarcastic. Maybe they didn’t know what was best, maybe their advice actually made their friend even more depressed, or, if they weren’t already, suicidal.
«And I would have stayed up with you all night/had I known how to save a life»
If they had only known what their friend had been attempting, they would have stayed up and talked them out of it, or at least tried to. Instead, they either didn’t know what was happening, or didn’t know how to deal with it and let their friend slip away.
«As he begins to raise his voice/You lower yours and grant him one last choice»
The loved one gets angry and defensive, and an argument ensues. The two choices they give him—«driving until he loses the road» or «breaking the ones he’s followed»—may have been taken wrong and the loved one was driven to suicide.
This is just is my take on it, it’s probably actually about drug use. But with my past, this is how I’ve always interpreted the song. Suicide has always been an unfortunate factor in my life, and this is all I can think about when I hear this song. It makes me cry every time. c’:
@KeenaChan I’ve heard this song a lot, of course, everybody has, but I always misheard the lyric as «But I know how to save a life.» I thought that the singer’s intervention was effective, even though he and his former friend are more distant because of it.
Today I heard the song again, for the first time since my mentally ill best friend committed suicide. I’d tried to intervene in different ways, even talked him out of it in the past. This time I realized what the actual lyric was, and like everyone else, it hit me. Whether it’s the intended meaning or not, to someone who’s been there, it’s wrenching.
General CommentThis is my take:
«step one, you say ‘we need to talk’
he walks, you say ‘sit down, it’s just a talk’
He feels the first thing he needs to do to help his friend is to tell him «we need to talk». And reassure him that everything is going to be ok because after all «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»
The friend the storyteller is confronting seems to know what the talk is about so he tries to stay calm by «smiling politely» But the storyteller cant bare to look his friend in the eye so he «stares right on through the window» The window could symbolize literally a window the storyteller is looking at to avoid eye contact with his friend because he is «fearful» of what his friend will think of what he has to say (and fearful for his friends life), especially if his friend is not willing to take the «blame» for his actions. And if his friend wont listen to him it’s all just a waste of time and he’ll «wonder why he came». Referring back to the window, he could also be speaking figuratively, thinking of this as his window of oppurtunity to help his friend.
«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»
He’s asking himself «where did I go wrong»? How come I couldn’t reach my friend? And possibly feeling guilty for the «bitterness» he feels toward his friend because his friend hasn’t changed his ways (possibly that bitterness pushed his friend away, making him even harder to reach)
And the next part could mean two different things. The more symbolic: «staying up all night» would mean spending a lot of time trying to «save a life» «had he known how» by being there for his friend if he only knew how to help him straighten out his life. Or «staying up all night» could literally mean staying up all night while his friend was going through withdraw from the drugs he was taking and «had he know how to save a life» would then mean if he knew staying up all night with him to help him through his withdraw was what he needed to save his life, he would have done that. (Sorry if none of that made sense, it made more sense in my head)
«let him know that you know best
’cause after all, you do know best”
He wants his friend to know that he knows what is best for him hence «let him know that you know best».
“try to slip passed his defense
without granting innocence”
He also wants to » try to slip passed his defense» meaning he wants to be gentle enough to were his friend will let down his guard and listen to him but he doesnt want to «grant innocence» meaning not letting his friend believe that his actions weren’t wrong. So basically find a balance between sensitivity and sternness when he is confronting his friend.
“lay down a list of what is wrong
things you told him all along”
Once he has accomplished that he wants to «lay down a list of what is wrong, things he told him all along» In other words, once his friend is listening he’s going to try to tell him all the things that he has done wrong, like he’s attempted to in the passed.
“pray to god he hears you
and pray to god he hears you»
The storyteller then realizes all you can do after that is «pray to god he hears you»
«as he begins to raise his voice
you lower yours and grant him one last choice»
His friend get angry because of the things he is telling him, but he stays calm and lays it on the line.
«drive until you lose the road
or break with the ones you’ve followed»
He tells his friend that he can drive himself to his end or choose a better path to follow.
«he will do one of two things
he will admit to everything
or he’ll say he’s just not the same»
His friend will either admit to his wrong doing or he’ll just say he’s not the same person that he used to be and that he can’t change who he currently is.
“and you’ll begin to wonder why you came”
And obviously if his friend chooses not to change “you’ll begin to wonder why you came” because it was a unsuccessful attempt to help his friend.
Текст песни How to save a life
Перевод песни How to save a life
How to save a life
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 And 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
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 (where did I go wrong), I lost a friend Somewhere along in the bitterness And I would have stayed up (I would of stayed up) with you all night Had I known how to save a life
Как спасти жизнь?
Где же я ошиблась, Я потеряла друга
Снова в горечи ты одна
Ты хочешь быть с ним всю ночь
И никто не может тебе с твоей жизнью помочь
Он знает тебя лучше всех
Мотив и всё, ты знаешь его
Борись за него
Ведь ты невиновна
И все равно что то не то
Скажи ему всё
Моли бога о нём ведь он твой
Где же я ошиблась, Я потеряла друга
Снова в горечи ты одна
Ты хочешь быть с ним всю ночь
И никто не может тебе с твоей жизнью помочь
Если он начнёт голос повышать
Дай ему шанс (но не давай себя унижать)
Отрывайся пока не собьешься с пути
Сделай паузу не уходи
Он сделает что то из двух
Или он согласиться на всё
Или скажет прости но мне нужно идти
И ты будешь думать зачем ты пришла.
Где же я ошиблась, Я потеряла друга
Снова в горечи ты одна
Ты хочешь быть с ним всю ночь
И никто не может тебе с твоей жизнью помочь