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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
[Chorus]
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
[Chorus]
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
[Chorus: x2]
How to save a life
How to save a life
[Chorus: x2]
How to save a life
How to save a life
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
[Chorus]
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
[Chorus]
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
[Chorus: x2]
How to save a life
How to save a life
[Chorus: x2]
How to save a life
How to save a life
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It's about a guy who loved a girl. It could be romantic or platonic. But she was with another guy.
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
(This shows the relationship struggles she's going through. She's having a really rough time with him not caring about her and everything)
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
(This is the friend's point of view, looking back on how she killed herself after the troubles with her relationship)
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
(Her trying to make amends with her boyfriend/fiance/husband. Writing down a list of things that are wrong with her life. And praying that someone sees that she's hurting.)
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
(showing how at the end, everything is just not working and she needs someone but no one is helping her)
That's what I always take away from this song and it's always held very deep meaning for me, being suicidal myself.
It's amazing to find that that's not even close to the true intent of the song.
Step one, you say we need to talk he walks, you say sit down, it's just a talk (You know he is about to do something bad, and you want to help him)
He smiles politely back at you, you stare politely right on through (You still say no word, just stare at him...trying to decipher him)
Some sort of window to your right as he goes left, and you stay right (he is going the wrong way while you are still in your road)
Between the lines of fear and blame (He is afraid, he blames everyone of the way he feels or maybe you blame everyone for making him feel that way)
You begin to wonder why you came (You see nothing wrong with him, so you ask yourself why you came from the start)
[Chorus]
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend (He commited suicide, but still you feel you could've saved him)
Somewhere along in the bitterness (He lost himself when everything started going wrong)
And I would have stayed up with you all night, Had I known how to save a life (If you only had known what he was going through, you would've stayed but you left)
Let him know that you know best, Cause after all, you do know best (he is kind of giving you some advice to help him)
Try to slip past his defense Without granting innocence (don't fall for the games he tries to play, throw his borders down)
Lay down a list of what is wrong (write down all that's gone wrong in his life)
The things you've told him all along (Everything you've told him, good or bad)
And pray to God he hears you And I pray to God he hears you (You pray that he doesn't hurt himself, that he listens to you)
[Chorus]
As he begins to raise his voice You lower yours and grant him one last choice (he begins to defend himself, saying he isn't like that, that he is okay)
Drive until you lose the road (Keep living until you die or break again)
Or break with the ones you've followed (do stupid things, like others do)
He will do one of two things (He will make a decision, you have no word in it)
He will admit to everything (He will say he is hurt, he is not okay, he needs a friend)
Or he'll say he's just not the same and you'll begin to wonder why you came (He won't admit anything, and break. you begin to wonder if it's really worth the trouble)
I would've stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life (he just wanted a friend to stick with him through the dark hours, and he keeps thinking if he had only stayed, he would've saved a friend's life)
The person feels guilty for not knowing how to help, and looking back afterwords, plays back how if they had known the problem, they COULD have given their loved one help, or "saved their life".
But anyway. This song is very dear to my heart. Someone who's working to get through depression and being suicidal, this song makes me feel like I'm able to see me through my close friend, who's stayed up with me through long nights just to keep me alive. So to me, it's about someone who's terrified about someone they love committing suicide and being lost without them.
I have a 18 year old son who I have been very close to.. As a matter of fact I can safely say he was my best friend (Maybe second only to my wife). I have done my best to try and give him guidance over the years not to make so many of the same mistakes that I had made in my younger years… Well the short version is he moved out of our home about 5 months ago and has a live in girlfriend, started smoking and drinking and now I just found out 4 days ago is doing drugs as well… Although I disapprove of what he was doing I felt that the best way to still be an influence in his life was to just let him know I disapproved but still treat him and his girlfriend as if they were my best friends…. Well the drugs thing broke my heart and we had to have a painful conversation 3 days ago.
I haven’t cried in over 20 years but since that conversation with my son every time I hear this song I cannot stop the tears from sliding down the side of my cheek… The worst part is He plays guitar and used to sing this song when he lived with us and I never understood the words or even paid attention to them.. I stumbled upon this on YouTube when I was looking for a different song (Angles on the moon) that he used to play…. So I can completely relate lock step to every line in this song, but the chorus is absolutely heart wrenching
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